The Bey called Bluewolf
by LupaCaerulea
Summary: A new bey, of which none of them knew anything about. A new friend, who didn't know anything about beyblading. A new adventure, during which none of them could escape doing some serious thinking about his/her own past and present. T for language. Disclaimer (once and for all): I do NOT own MFB! A challenge to you all: Who's afraid of OCs? ;)
1. 1 A new bey - or a very old one

_A/N: "Kolmas kerta toden sanoo" - "The third attempt speaks the truth out". Or something like that._

_Here we are again. _

_It seems this story won't let me alone until I have written it out of my systems, and this time I'll begin right away where the adventure starts, without introductions. I hope all the flashbacks won't make it too confusing._

_It was difficult to decide the genres for this fic. An adventure, of course, but besides that, there will be humor and friendship, some drama and supernatural, maybe hurt and romance, etc..._

_The story is situated between Metal Masters and Metal Fury. I'm not going to mess with the canon, just stretching the timeline between them. ;)_

_And I beg thousands of pardons for all the mistakes there will be in my English. I just love to play with words and mix languages, so please, please, tell me when I'm totally at he sea!_

_Thanks to all of you who did read the first version(s), please forget it. I really do hope this will be a better one!_

* * *

"But dad, it... it's a wolf, isn't it?", Gingka gasped.

They stared at the picture of a greyish-blue bey on the screen.

Kyoya growled deep in his throat. The others looked at him astonished. Why, the boy was crouched like an animal, ready to attack. They could almost see the hair in his neck stand thick. Ryo was the only one who didn't pay any attention to him, he looked the blurry picture with glowing enthusiasm.

"Yes, it is, Gingka. The blue one. One of the three oldest beys named after the Lupus constellation. I was just about to leave my office tonight when I got a message it was found. The last three hours I've been searching for more information about it, but it's almost impossible to find anything. It seems that..."

Gingka found it hard to concentrate. The atmosphere of the evening had changed a little too quickly and too often. Why, only half an hour ago they all – himself, Madoka, Tsubasa, Kyoya, Benkei, Yuu and Kenta – had been spending a cozy Friday evening at Kiti's apartment, eating and chatting. Then several things had happened.

The first was the howling.

It had been a mere joke: Kiti had done it to tease Kyoya who had said something rude about operasingers when Madoka had asked if the boys wanted to come with her and Kiti to see Madama Butterfly.

"I'd rather listen the wolves in the canyon!", the Lion had put it.

And then, without any warning but a mischevious glint in her eyes, Kiti had taken a deep breath, lifted her face – and howled with such an authentic gloominess it made the blood freeze in their veins.

The effect had been shocking.

Gingka still felt his hair come up when he thought how the terrifying sound had echoed in the small room. Madoka had screamed and dropped her laptop, a thing she almost never did. He had snatched it just in time, and without thinking wrapped his other arm round her shoulders. The remembrance made him blush, and he looked shyly at the auburn-haired girl just in front of him. He took one step closer, just in case if she needed some more protection when seeing so soon a picture of that dreaded animal. They had had no time to recover and find their happy mood again because one minute later Ryo had called and asked them to come to his office immediately. He hadn't said anything else on the phone, and now they were here, staring the screen and listening to the story about a bey no-one of them had ever heard before. What would it be to battle against such a relic, Gingka thought. His curiosity arose as Ryo's narration continued.

"Once upon a time the three beys of Wolf constellation were made to maintain the balance between three kingdoms. The most powerful of them, Silverwolf, disappeared several hundreds of years ago and is today known only by legends. The second one, Dark Wolf, remained longer. The last time we saw it, it belonged to Doji, and it disappeared with him. It is said that very few of its masters have been able to use its full power, so it's likely even we didn't see the whole truth of it."

Kyoya tried to suppress the growing wrath inside him. Once again he remembered the time he had been challenged by Dark Wolf and the humiliation burned in his veins. He had lost, lost like a child and although the things that had followed were the reason to the power he got today, his Lion pride still demanded for rematch. As for real wolves, he had seen enough of them in the Wolf Canyon.

That darned girl with her extraordinary howling-skills!

Kyoya felt his anger arise when he thought about his reaction to her trick. He had jumped on his feet, ready to launch Leone before anybody else had been able to move a toe. He could only hope nobody had been able to see what he had really felt that moment. The memories the sound had woken up had been buried in the deepest parts in his mind, and he wanted to keep them there. For good. The only person who knew anything about these memories was Nile, and sometimes he felt even that was one person too much.

Ryo continued. He still didn't notice the sidelong glances that were thrown towards Kiti.

"This bluenette was almost forgotten, nobody had seen it for ages until today. During its history it has rather stayed in the background, shadow-like. In spite of that, its influence in certain incidents mustn't be underestimated. For some reason the masters of Bluewolf have never wanted to be in the spotlight."

He turned and watched the young faces before him. From their wide-opened eyes he could guess the thoughts this new information had caused, although the seriousness of them surprised him: Gingka, already burning with enthusiasm when thinking of the possibility to battle against a new and powerful opponent. Kyoya, also burning, but in a very different way and probably for different reasons. Madoka, interested and eager to learn more about the qualities of a new bey. Tsubasa, calm and reliable as always, ready for taking orders. Yuu, listening, but seemingly wondering what did they have to do with all this. Kenta, with his mouth open, looking the picture of the ancient bey with a respectful and a little worried look on his round face. And Kiti, the newest link of the chain, her green eyes full of curiosity and wonder. Ryo let his eyes stop on her for a moment.

How she reminded her father! With her copper hair and angular face she was a living picture of Jonathan – or Joonatan, as his name was originally spelled. An old friend, of whom he hadn't seen for decades.

His gaze moved forward. Except for Kiti, they all had been through thick and thin together, facing much harder tasks than the one he was going to ask some of them to do this time. So why did he suddenly hesitate, like he was afraid? He couched slightly and shook his head to drop off the gnawing feeling.

"The reason I wanted you to come for is this: somebody has to go and get the bey safe immediately. I have several reasons to believe that Dark Wolf is not destroyed. With these two beys, somebody could be able to find out Silverwolf's whereabouts, and I don't want even to think what would happen if the powers of all these three were combined on evil purposes."

Tsubasa had listened attentively. He had already guessed what the director was after.

"So, where is the bey?" he asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Over there." Ryo pointed a tiny spot on the map he had clicked on the screen. "A group of scientists was making some measurements on the mountains, concerning the global warming. They had their camp in a deserted village, or hamlet. The bey was found some kilometres above it. It was buried on ice, and they didn't have time to dig it up, so they sent me only the picture of it and the location. The problem is, there is no road to the village, only a footpath, and it will soon be blocked by snow. If we want to get there before spring we must start immediately."

"We? Are we all going?" Madoka gasped. In her mind she saw a several days journey on snowy mountains. The picture didn't make her too happy.

"No, a group of two or three is faster and draws less attention. I thought..."

"Please, Ryo-san, may I go?" Kiti had jumped forward and was bouncing in front of him, her eyes glowing. "This sounds just the trip I've been longing for weeks!"

He hesitated.

"Um... what do you think your parents...", he asked uncertainly.

When Jonathan had suddenly contacted him after years and years of silence, and asked him to look after his daughter a bit, he had been only too happy to assent. An exchange student, studying passionately classical music and harp playing just couldn't cause any troubles, he had thought, at least compared to the youngsters he already had in his charge.

He should have known better.

Even their first meeting had been loaded with surprises.

He couldn't say what kind of person he had been waiting for, but this tomboy in her ragged jeans, olive green hoodie and an enormous sack-like cap that hid her whole head wasn't exactly what he had thought a classical harpist would be. Well, maybe he was just a little old-fashioned, but at first he had thought her a member of Kyoya's old gang Face Hunters, when he found her sleeping on a couch in front of his office. Her face had soon revealed her to Jonathan's daughter, and after that he had noticed there were many other things she had inherited as well. Like the readiness to throw herself into a new adventure, totally ignoring the hardships.

Kiti waved the question about the parents aside with an expressive gesture.

"Who cares? I'd be in the woods this very moment if I wasn't here."

"Well... your father did tell me you are quite at home in those kind of conditions..."

He looked at Tsubasa who nodded.

"I'm ready to go. It's been a while since I was outside the city and civilization."

"I'll go too." Kyoya blurted unexpectedly. Once again he felt annoyed of the way Ryo had put Tsubasa ahead of the others, just like the day when Kti's unexpected potential as a blader was discovered and Ryo had ordered the Eagle to coach her. Besides, getting the bey before the possible owner of Dark Wolf had already became a matter of honor to him.

Gingka had lifted his hand.

"And I! Gosh, this is going to..."

"No, Gingka." Ryo shook his head. "A group of three is enough. Yes, I know you got your Pegasos in kind of similar location, but this case is different. As far as I know, Bluewolf doesn't belong to anybody, it won't guide or help you in any way. Moreover, you are not as used to wilderness as these three, you'd slow them down."

Benkei had opened his mouth but shut it again and looked sheepishly at Kyoya.

"But... but... Kyoya-pal..."

"You heard what he said." the Lion answered without turning his eyes from the map.

"Now go home and get some sleep. You three come here tomorrow morning, we'll check the details of the itinerary and equipments then. I'll ask Hikaru to acquire what you will need." Ryo switched the screen off.

Tsubasa walked slowly down the corridor, listening absent-mindedly Yuu's endless chatting about Doji's Dark Wolf, what the little boy knew about it, what he thought about it and what he thought he knew about it. The older blader was not particularly interested in the subject himself but understood Yuu's need to tattle after being quiet so long.

He watched his new team-mates walking ahead of him, Kiti dancing like a calf on a hayfield, Kyoya with his hand deep in his pockets, looking even more sullen than usually. The Eagle shook his head. Teamwork with these two might become interesting!

* * *

_A/N: There is a reference to JuniperGentle's "Stories from the bunk bed" (which is my prime favorite of all Beyblade fanfics) in this chapter. I consider some of her and Malluchan's works as good as canon, so there will be more that kind of references here and there._

_BTW: I won't ask for reviews (except those of too ugly language-bugs) because I don't want to make you feel you _have _to write something if you don't feel like it_._ But I really do appreciate it if you want to share your thoughts with me, and I promise to answer every single review I get!_


	2. 2 Preparing to go

Hikaru woke with a start when her mobile phone started its hilarious song at 7 o'clock on Saturday morning. The week had been a long one in WBBA office and she hadn't slept but half of her sleep deprivation yet.

"Director", she thought and looked the screen with dizzy eyes. "I should have switched it off."

It was not the first time her over-enthusiastic boss had called her on unearthly hours or on her holidays. With a sigh she lifted the phone on her ear.

"Yes, director, good morning."

"Good morning, Hikaru. I hope I didn't wake you up?"

"Well, umm..." She didn't need to lie because Ryo didn't have time to listen – as always.

"I have great news. Listen, ..."

With the phone on her ear Hikaru scrambled out of the bed and headed to the kitchen. She was used to make breakfast half-asleep and with one hand while listening the marvellous ideas and stories of her boss.

"Yes... yes... I see..."

The smell of coffee finally made her eyes open. She picked up her clothes and hoped Ryo would stop talking soon and let her go to the bathroom.

"..., and that's the reason I need you to order all the necessary equipments for them as soon as possible.", he ended, a bit out of breath.

"Yes, of course, director. I'll be there in less than an hour."

"That's great. I knew I could trust you. See you soon!"

With another sigh (or was it the fifth one?) Hikaru set the phone on the table. She would have to check the facts over again when she got to the office. Right now there was a hilarious mishmash in her head concerning lost and found beys, expeditions, tents and supplies and ancient kingdoms.

"I need a long, hot shower right now", she thought. "Thank heavens I'm not the one who's going to leave on that trip!"

While sitting in an underground she tried to organize the facts she managed to recall. Equipments for a week's hiking on a mountain for three persons. Who were those three? She shut her eyes and heard the director's voice again in her ears.

Tsubasa, of course. The Eagle was director's right hand as well as herself, even more so when there was something to do outside of the WBBA building. But Kyoya? The rebellious and sullen wildcat, why he and not Gingka? The question puzzled her.

Of course, the boy had been almost bored to death. After the episode in Hades City, Ryo had ordered all Japanese bladers to come back to Metal City, saying he would need them there. Nile, Demure and Team Dungeon had left to their home countries, and the life had went on as usual.

Only to Kyoya, nothing seemed to be as usual.

During the weeks that had followed, Hikaru had noticed many things that proved the Lion was not too happy with the situation. She had watched him in secret so often she could guess where the problem lied: the lonely warrior had finally find himself a team where he belonged and with whom he could improve his skills even farther. Now he missed his team, he missed hard training, he missed something to aspire. He couldn't even challenge Ginka anymore, not until Pegasos was in proper condition again.

Hikaru sighed without noticing it. She wished so much she could have helped the handsome loner somehow, but one fierce look from his clearblue eyes made all her courage vanish in thin air. With an effort she turned her thoughts back to business again.

If she had understood right, the third member of the team would be Kiti, their new acquaintance with boyish appearance and absolutely no background as a blader. Why on earth? And again, why not Gingka, or Benkei? Kenta and Yuu were too young, of course, and Madoka was probably as little willing to participate on the trip as herself. But was there some special reason why Ryo didn't want to send Gingka to the mountains again, or didn't Kyoya want his faithful shadow to come with him? In that case, maybe Kiti was just the next "boy" in the line?

Leaning her head on the window she tried to think another explanation but couldn't find any. She still didn't know Kiti too well, even though they had met several times at the WBBA building when she had come to practice beyblading with Tsubasa. She tried to explain to herself that there had never been time for getting to know each other, but the truth was she didn't even want to. Kiti's presence made her feel uncomfortable.

The girl reminded her too much of her former self, the strong and lone wanderer she had been before her terrifying battle against El Drago. After that battle, after losing her dream, her promise and future as a blader she had wanted to forget everything of the girl to whom those things had been so precious. She had created herself a new attitude, a new goal in life and focused on it with all her might. And she had succeeded so well it seemed now the former appearance never had been more than a rough and artificial shell over her true, more womanly self.

She stared her reflection on the window. A nice dress, beautifully arranged hair, anxious eyes that tried to ignore the nagging question in the back of her head.

Had she betrayed a certain part of her soul?

* * *

"This is alright. But why on earth do we need two tents?" Kiti handed the list of equipments back to the blue-dressed secretary, nodding approvingly. "She's really effective!", she thought. In a very short time the girl had produced not only the list of the equipments the team would need, but also the places where to get them on that very day, not to mention the comparison of the prices. But now the bluenette was staring her, looking like she couldn't understand at all what she had meant. Kiti tried to clarify her meaning.

"I mean, the less we have to carry the faster we walk. Wouldn't it be better to have only one tent big enough for us all?"

Hikaru didn't know what to answer. Why it was so difficult for her to deal with this stranger?

"You see... I thought..." she stammered.

A sudden idea flashed in Kiti's brain. She uttered a hilarious giggling just when Ryo walked in the room with Kyoya and Tsubasa on his heels.

"Ryo-san, please tell me the truth: Is my reputation as a chaste young girl gone forever if we take only one tent with us?"

Ryo blinked and tried to catch the joke. Kiti continued.

"See, I'm not so very particular in which company I sleep, as long as it means sleeping. The less items we have to carry, the better. So why drag a double amount of fabric with us? Unless boys have something against a shared tent?" She glanced a questioning look towards her companions.

Tsubasa shook his head, slightly blushing but obviously amused. Kyoya snorted.

"I'll sleep in the open air!", he blurted. His voice told plainly what he thought about any kind of canvas shelters anyway.

"Yeah, so do I, usually." Kiti answered calmly. "At least, as long as it rains only mosquitoes and birdshit. But I must confess I'm such a silky-ass I _do_ prefer a shelter when it's snowing hard."

Kyoya turned angrily away, but Ryo burst into laughter.

"You little ranger! Go ahead, sleep in a snow drift and eat raw bear meat!"

Hikaru smiled a little uncertain.

"Um... if the list is alright I'll order the items immediately. They should be here in the afternoon."

"Good." Ryo sat by his desk. "In the meantime we check your itinerary and some other things. The train to north leaves at seven."

* * *

Tsubasa packed the last items into his bag and looked round the apartment. The plants were watered, Yuu was sent to Kenta and his family (hopefully he got all his necessary things with him), his pet eagle was in care of a person they both trusted... He checked the taps and electronic devices once more and closed the door behind him. The thrill of a new journey made his feet want to move quicker, but he kept his pace normal.

It was so good to get out of the city again! He never felt at home among too many buildings and people, but that couldn't be helped. The only thing that worried him was the little suspicion of Kyoya's willingness to co-operate in certain situations, but he didn't want to think about it right now. With Kiti there shouldn't arise any problems, if only she was strong enough to walk such distances. Luckily she didn't seem to be a person to complain too easily. During their training sessions she had already proved to be both attentive and quick to learn, even to make him feel he wasn't just teaching her, but reminding her about something she had forgotten long ago. He wondered if that had something to do with her intensive training with the harp. Maybe she had developed such an ability to concentrate and absorb things with it she could utilize it when learning other skills as well.

Be it however, that combination of that talented and sensitive musician and a harsh-speaking tomboy interested him. Besides, there had been some coincidences he still didn't know what to think of.

First, her real name. Sini Tuuli Virtanen, "a very, very common name", as she had said. The meaning of it – Blue Wind Little River – had surprised him. It was almost the same than the one of his great-grandmother's, Little Blue River, given to her by her tribe. But maybe those kind of names were common in several cultures.

Then there was that necklace of hers. Hikaru had been the first to pay attention to it, on the day of Kiti's arrival when they were having breakfast in a café near the WBBA office. She had asked if there was some certain meaning in the three little particles of it, a wooden heart and an acorn and feather made of some metal. Because Kiti didn't know anything about the symbolism, Madoka had taken her laptop and started to search for information.

"_Hmmm... a heart... an universal symbol of love...", she muttered. Yuu made an enormous yawn._

"_Come on, tell us something we don't know!"_

"_Why the heart is the only item made of wood?" Ryo teased. "I mean, isn't it a bit risky if it catches the fire?" Kiti snorted. Madoka continued to read._

"_The acorn... the Celts and Vikings... the life, fertility, immortality,... happiness, success, power, potential,..." The owner of the necklace rolled her eyes._

"_Every good thing there is possible to be and some more. Why am I not surprised?"_

"_The feather... Native Americans... the power of the god of the thunder together with the powers of the wind and air... the truth, speed, light, flying, soaring... By the way, there is an ancient drawing of a feather of an eagle, it looks pretty similar to..."_

At that moment Kiti had swallowed her drink into her windpipe and caused a flood on the table by pushing her mug upside down. When they had cleared the mess and she was able to breathe and talk again, it had been time to return to WBBA and the subject had dropped.

All these things were easy to pass as mere coincidences, but he still couldn't forget her puzzled look when she had hold Aquila in her hand for the first time on that very same day. Of course, Aquila was a beautiful bey, and she had never seen any bey so near before, but why it was the only one she had asked to examine closer?

_And why had Aquila answered to her howling yesterday? _

Nobody else had noticed it then, they had all been staring at her and Kyoya, who seemed to have reacted stronger than anybody else. Besides, it was impossible to them to hear Aquila's voice anyway as long as the bey didn't spin. But how was it possible to anybody to call a constellation that belonged to somebody else? Even more so, when the whole thing had been just a joke to her, she had laughed heartily at their fright.

He didn't want to ask Ryo, or anybody, in fear they wouldn't believe him. The director would probably only tease him about the girl and her "wooden heart", or say that maybe Aquila was only protesting the noise she made. But the shriek he had heard hadn't been a shriek of protest (he knew that kind of sounds only too well), it had been an overjoyed greeting to a friend after a long separation. Aquila's unwilligness to communicate about what had happened had made him even more puzzled, but he didn't want to press the subject. He still knew they could trust each other, whatever happened, and he would get an explanation in due time.

The late afternoon sun sparkled on the windows of the WBBA building when he entered it and directed to Ryo's office. He sighed contently to the thought that this time tomorrow he would be far from the high-rise houses and paved roads. Maybe Kyoya would turn out as a cooperative team-mate after all.


	3. 3 On the road

_A/N: The earworm mentioned is an old song called Desperado. I don't own anything about it, and the name of the band (Eagles) is just a coincidence, really!_

* * *

In the train Kiti noticed the sidelong glances the boys were throwing at her.

"Well? Say it aloud, something's wrong with my mug?" she asked Tsubasa with an oblique smile.

"Um..." the Eagle squirmed in embarrassment. "Maybe it's just the light but... weren't your eyes _green_ the last time we met?"

"The last time we met, yes. Originally, no."

She lifted her cap and let the last beams of setting sun shine on her face. Her right eye still had its former emerald gleam, but the left one was unmistakable toffee-colored.

"Got so many nasty comments at school on these I decided it best to make them look similar," she said, but there was a poisonous edge in her voice. Kyoya looked sharply at her.

"Is that the reason why she hides under that cap, too?" he wondered in his mind. She adjusted the cap smoothly on her braids again.

"But on this trip I didn't want to take anything extra to carry. Not even the contact lenses." She stretched her shoulders and turned to Tsubasa. "Show me the map again, please."

The Eagle spread the map and pointed their route.

"We'll change the train at midnight. It arrives to the nearest station of the village early next morning. From there we have to walk, unless we can get a lift. This isn't the quickest way to get there but as a group of common hikers we draw less attention." Kiti nodded.

"How soon you think we'll reach the village?"

"It depends on the lifts. Two or three days at most."

"The last of which by mountain path." she muttered. "Ab-so-lu-te-ly wonderful!"

Tsubasa smiled and folded the map again.

"You seem to consider this kind of trip as a Sunday picnic?"

"That's what it is to me. I thought I'd have to sit all the winter on my butt by the harp until I'll become mossy. This trip is really a stroke of luck."

She sat humming and tapping the armrest some minutes and jumped then suddenly on her feet.

"Hey guys, let's go and get something to eat! The restaurant car is still open."

* * *

Finally in the narrow bed of the sleeping car Kyoya was turning himself restlessly. He got an obstinate song humming in his head, a worst class earworm he couldn't get rid of.

"_Desperado, why don't you come to your senses  
You've been out ridin' fences  
for so long now  
Oh you're a hard one  
I know that you've got your reasons  
These things that are pleasin' you  
Can hurt you somehow."_

Where the heck did it come? And why did it make him to think of a rainy evening couple of weeks ago? It was true that on that very evening he had got a new idea which also was one reason he had volunteered to this trip, but that he would never had admitted to anybody.

He had been in a movie with Benkei, and then met Kiti on their way home. She had walked along with them, talking – more than Kyoya thoght necessary – about some band, or "trio", as she called it, she was training with. The way she had compared their co-operation to a tag team had been quite reasonable, even Benkei had seemed to understand the similarity.

"You can't concentrate solely on your own show to be a star, but you have to listen and follow your partners to make things work", she had said, and as much as he, Kyoya, preferred to act alone, he had to admit there was something in her words. He let his thoughts return on the rainy street.

"_Why are you doing it? Are you going to participate a competition?" Kyoya asked abruptly. Kiti looked at him astonished._

"_Why, no, just for the fun of it."_

"_You have no other reason?"_

"_No, why should we have? Of course, we'll learn many things when making music together, but no, we are not going to contest. We have none of us any need to be "number one players" or "better than some certain persons", if you meant something like that."_

_She threw a sly glance towards the greenhaired blader, well knowing she was poking a beehive. During the last weeks she had learned a lot about her new friends, also on things they hadn't said aloud._

_Kyoya walked onwards without looking at her. He had understood the hint but didn't want to show it. _

"_So you don't want to improve?"_

"_Of course we want! You think we'd have come this far if we didn't? It's just...__" She waved her hands frustrated._

"Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy  
She'll beat you if she's able  
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet  
Now it seems to me, some fine things  
Have been laid upon your table  
But you only want the ones  
That you can't get."

"_What's your true reason for training and being the best, then? It's obvious you are not doing it for money or fame, so you must have something better in view?", she asked._

_Kyoya didn't answer at once. He knew there were bladers who had sold their skills for money, like mercenaries. Once he had thought Tsubasa was one of them, but luckily that proved to be a mistake. _

_There were also people who enjoyed being famous, but he was definitely not one of them either. Gingka had once related some weird story of a team member of China, who had managed to conciliate even furious Madoka, after practicing with thousands of fangirls, but that was probably just one of his silly tales._

_No, he had his own reasons, and there was more than the one Kiti and the others knew._

"_Why do you want to know?" he finally asked. She shrugged._

"_Just asking. In fact, I'm much more interested in what will you do when you reach your goal?"_

_The question totally silenced the Lion. For the first, he had hardly ever thought that far. For the second, had anybody ever referred to his rivalry with Gingka in such words? What will you do _when_. _

_When. Not if._

"_Will you have another match just to prove it wasn't a mistake?", she continued. The green eyes were watching him curiously._

_Suddenly he felt irritated. Why was this newcomer asking him questions even his oldest comrades hadn't the nerves to ask? The girl had managed to catch him off-guard, and he didn't like the situation at all._

"_That's my own business!" he snarled._

"Desperado,  
Why don't you come to your senses?  
come down from your fences, open the gate  
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you  
You better let somebody love you  
before it's too late."

"_What will you do when you reach your goal in playing?" he asked haphazardly, to led her thoughts away. Kiti snorted. _

"_That day isn't too near yet. And when it comes, there'll be plenty of important things for me to choose."_

"_Like what?" the Lion demanded. He was ready to talk about almost anything to escape to answer more awkward questions._

_They had walked through a park and climbed up the hill in the middle of it. The rain had stopped and clouds were swiftly moving, revealing almost full moon rising above the tree-tops. Kiti stopped on the top of the hill and folded her umbrella._

"_T__he woods, for instance. The wilderness. I'd fly into pieces if I couldn't go to the wilds for now and then. Just alone, only the most necessary items with me."_

_She lifted her face and sniffed the night air. The moonshine made her eyes flash restlessly._

"_In the nights like this I feel like howling if I'm stuck indoors." she said quietly._

_Kyoya glanced a sharp look on her. _

"_She's a wild one, too", he thought. "And her first attempts of blading were not bat at all. She'll made a good blader some day, if she'll be trained in proper way." A new idea started to grow in his mind. The blue eyes followed the gaze of the green ones whose intensive stare had made him feel kind of... well, not nervous but very uncomfortable more than once. He was glad she wasn't looking at him right now._

"_Who knows", he thought. "It may be worth thinking of."_

Kyoya turned on his back and stretched. He had been quite bored at that time, that was true. His eternal rivalry to Gingka hadn't made any progress since he had started to think the battle couldn't be won only by force. If that had been the case, he would have been the winner ages ago. Besides, there was no use to challenge him until Madoka had finished up fixing the damages Pegasos had got in Hades City. The bey still wasn't as strong as it had used to be, and Madoka had strictly forbidden all the "serious" battles. As a result of these thoughts he had started to watch the redhead's training, trying to learn more about his ways and weaknesses. To his surprise, he had found this observing quite interesting. But still there were days when time hung heavily on his hands. This new bey couldn't have appeared on better time. Maybe he could find some good oppoturnities for good training too, when they got out of the inhabited area.

He felt his muscles finally began to relax while the annoying song in his head faded into train's humming noise. Yawning he gave his flat pillow one final thud and went to sleep.

* * *

The morning was crispy and cool when the trio jumped off the train and headed towards the road to the mountains. Kyoya shadowed his eyes with his hand and looked the bright sky.

"You didn't take your eagle with you?" he asked. The big bird couldn't have flied this far so soon, and he was sure it hadn't been in the train either. Transporting an enormous cage with a rare animal in it wouldn't have gone unnoticed by anybody. Tsubasa shook his head.

"No. It's not a typical specimen hereabouts. We've better avoid anything to draw attention."

It felt empty to be on the road without his flying friend. He had had to discuss with it quite a while to make it understand its mere presence here could have been a threat to them. Ryo had talked seriously with him yesterday while the others were busy with the equipments.

"Just act like any normal hitchhikers", the director had said. "You and Kyoya are too famous to travel totally incognito, but try to look like you're on a holiday."

He had said it with a smile but Tsubasa could sense there was something that worried him.

"Up in the village there isn't any kind of networks so you'll be on your own. But you are all old hand hikers and nobody knows about the bey but us, so there shouldn't be any problems. If only the weather holds fine..." He had shrugged like wanting to shake a disturbing thought off his mind and looked smiling the silverhaired blader in front of him. There really was no need to worry as long as he had the young Eagle in charge of the team. By defeating his darker side in the World Championships Tsubasa had proved to be even more strong and reliable than Ryo Hagane had given him the credit for. With those skills and personality this young man could some day be an excellent choice for...

Ryo returned to the present with a sigh.

"Maybe it's because of Kiti I'm worrying like this." He continued. "But in any case: be careful!"

Tsubasa stopped for a moment to adjust his pack. When he lifted it again on his back to walk after his companions he suddenly stopped to stare. Those two... Did his eyes deceive him? He blinked and shrugged his head but the image didn't chance.

"She really didn't think about femininity when choosing her outfit", he thought, looking at the smaller of the two figures marching side by side along the dusty road. The line of her shoulders, the way she walked, the whole appearance...

"Those two could be brothers", he chuckled.

* * *

In the late afternoon they got a lift in an old and rattling pickup truck. It was nice to sit for a while, but bouncing on a hard cargo bed between sacks of concrete wasn't too comfortable. It was impossible to hear anything through the noise of the engine, but as they had walked in silence most of the time, the lack of conversation didn't matter. Anyhow, everyone was relieved when they finally climbed down in a crossroad up the hill.

Tsubasa was thinking about their next move. He knew they were near the place where the path should begin, but the sun was already setting. I would be better to find a place to sleep and look for the path in the morning. He looked the clouds gathering in the western sky. If he had been alone – i.e. with his eagle – there wouldn't have been any questions what to do. But in this case...

"Let's ask if we can stay the night over there." he said and pointed a lonely house some distance of the road.

Kyoya looked at him sharply. Tsubasa nodded towards Kiti who was totally absorbed in admiring the view.

"It's going to rain before morning. Maybe even snow." he said.

Kyoya's eyes narrowed. So the Eagle was pampering that chick who had been the first to volunteer to this trip, full aware of the conditions. Of course, he knew Tsubasa had his own weird ideas of chivalry, but was this a right place to show them?

With a snort Kyoya turned towards the house. On the other hand, one more night in a warm and dry place wouldn't do any harm to him either. During the next days there would probably be more than enough of sleeping on the bare ground and MRE type food anyway. "Let's see if the girl is such a tough guy she pretends to be", he thought with a grin.


	4. Attack

_A/N: I want to confess a couple of things: First, I have never been in Japan, nor hitch-hiking on any kind of mountain (only in forests). Those of you who know something about the environments there are welcome to have a good laugh. Secondly, I have never written action-style before, nor described a bey-battle, so please, don't be harsh on me!_

* * *

To Kyoya's surprise Kiti hadn't uttered a word to protest Tsubasa's order to stay the night in the house. It was obvious she considered him as the leader of the team and therefore wasn't going to question his orders – the thing that irritated Kyoya as well as Tsubasa's equally obvious decision to shield her from unnecessary strain.

The elderly couple living in the house had been so fascinated about the unexpected guests they didn't hear about their paying even for the food. Tsubasa had had a hard time to make them let them help in some chores, and even a harder time in answering their questions about their backgrounds and destination. Trying to be as polite and non-informative as possible he had wished heartily they'd camped outdoors. Kyoya had sat stubbornly quiet, leaving the Eagle to enjoy all sides of the leadership to the fullest, and Kiti of course couldn't understand a word about their discussion.

At last he managed to get some information about their environments. He had asked if there was any nice trails or sights nearby, they had heard about a village...

"Oh yes, there was a footpath quite near, heading to a deserted village. How far was it? Well, a good day's walk at least, so they said who had visited there. Not an agreeable route at all, no idea when was the last time anybody had used it, maybe it wasn't even passable anymore, after all the rains and storms in the winters. And up there had been snow for weeks, wouldn't it be better to continue on the road? A young lady with them and all..."

Tsubasa reflected their description of the footpath's starting point the next morning when they were marching the steep uphill road.

"We should be very near it now. According what they said, it's not difficult to notice so we shouldn't miss it but..."

He left the sentence unfinished when a big black car curved past them and stopped crosswise on the road. Kyoya's hand was already on his launcher when another car appeared and blocked the road behind them. Men in dark green and violet clothing started to jump out, gathering around them. Kyoya lifted his launcher.

"Take Kiti away from here. I'll take care of those." He said quietly. Tsubasa looked sharply their opponents.

"Those are not bladers. They have..."

"Go."

Before anybody had time to say anything more, Leone had swooshed through the air and hit the ground just before the first line of them. Tsubasa snatched Kiti's arm and dragged her with him up the bank. As the hill downwards was too steep to climb, he could only hope they could make it far enough upwards to get safe.

"Stay down!" He shoved Kiti behind a rock some metres above the road and turned to watch down. "Fly, Aquila!"

Kiti pressed herself as close the ground she could. She hadn't had time to be scared or even amazed by the sudden attack. Through the noise of the beys she could hear several cars nearing and stopping below them. Tsubasa tried to shout over the uproar of the beys.

"Kyoya! There's too much of them! We must... Shit!"

Although most of the men were knocked down by Leone's first attack, one of them had managed to target Kyoya with his gun.

"Freeze!"

"Aquila, Metal Wing Smash!"

The bey hit the hand of the man at the last moment. Kyoya jumped backwards when a bullet hit the ground two inches off his feet. He cursed fiercely and turned to run up the slope. Aquila was knocking the attackers down one after another, throwing mud and sand high up in the air.

Kyoya gritted his teeth when reaching them on the bank.

"I've never fled a battle before!"

"I told you these guys are not bladers, they have firearms! Kiti, climb!"

In spite of her packs, Kiti clambered like squirrel. From bank to bank they advanced, the boys covering them one at the time.

The assailants had organized their lines again. The quickness and power of Leone's first attack had taken them by surprise but now they managed to gain ground again.

"King Lion Tearing Blast!"

The twisters tossed the attackers like ragdolls, but still more of them were waiting by the shelter of the cars. Dragging herself over the edge of one more terrace Kiti suddenly stopped terrified. The hillside in front of her continued gently sloping, open field without any kind of shelter. On the other side of the field, about half a kilometer off, were trees and small bushes. Tsubasa pulled himself up next to her and saw the situation.

"Hurry up, Kyoya!" he shouted and turned to see how the bank was shot to smithers under the Lions feet just when he was grabbing the last terrace. Kiti's shriek made his ears ring.

"Kyo!"

They threw themselves on the ground and got hold of his arms at the last second. The tug emptied Kiti's lungs and made her gasp.

"Stop them, Eagle!" Kyoya shouted and tried desperately find something to push with his feet. The most obstinate attackers were only some meters below them.

"How?! You'll fall if I let..."

"No, he won't." Kiti's voice was husky but calm. Tsubasa looked at her in disbelief.

"Do it!" Kyoya wrenched his hand out of his. Tsubasa let it go and directed Aquila to attack.

* * *

"Have you ever tested how many marshmallows you can stuff in a mug full of hot chocolate before it spills over?"

A little yellow-haired boy in his white-and-blue-striped pajamas dropped the fifth marshmallow on the top his steaming cup. Kenta had watched his experiments worried.

"Umm... Just once. My mom stopped me before I got any results", he answered. "I think it depends the size of them. Those are quite big ones."

His friend ignored the hint.

"This stuff is at its best on a rainy October evening", he sighed contently. Kenta nodded and took the wipe from the sink to the table, just in case. He hoped his mom wouldn't pop into the kitchen right now.

"I'd like to know if Tsubasa has already found that bey", Yuu said after some minutes, when he was done with his experiments (seven and half) and Kenta was cleaning the mess.

"Don't think so. Ryo said it takes several days to reach the village first."

Yuu waved carelessly with his hand.

"If he had sent Tsubasa alone there, he'd be back with the bey in a jiffy!", he said confidently.

Since the day the Eagle had "adopted" the Libra blader to live with him, the little boy had admired him endlessly. In his eyes, Tsubasa was capable of anything. The only fault he could find in him was his inexplicable unwillingness to buy enough ice cram.

Kenta rinsed the wipe and returned it on its place.

"I still can't understand why Kyoya wanted to go with him. He has never before volunteered to do anything like that", he said.

Yuu shrugged.

"He's been bored. Haven't you noticed how easily he's been annoyed lately?"

Yep, Kenta had noticed it. The last time when they had been training in the park and Yuu had directed Libra through a puddle, spattering water on Lion, "Just by accident, honestly!", he had grabbed the little boys ankles and dipped him several times into the duck pond.

But still Kenta wondered. After what he had seen that night at Kiti's apartment, he could have swore Kyoya would have stayed as far as possible of any kind of wolves.

They had sat exactly opposite each other, and the moment Kiti had opened her mouth he had seen such a terror in Lion's eyes it had startled him more than the ghastly sound. It had been visible only a quarter of a second and nobody else had probably noticed it, but it had been there. And if there was something that could cause such a look to Kyoya, of all people, that something had to be really, really scary.

"Or maybe he's after Kiti", Yuu chuckled. "Like Gingka and Madoka, you remember, at Kiti's place? They were just silly!"

Kenta smiled and nodded. Those two had sat all night on the same chair (there weren't too many), and eagerly offered to share a plate after Yuu had dropped and broke half of them. And their enthusiasm when comparing their hands...

_Kenta had squeezed himself between the harp and the piano, and watched Kiti's playing with a thoughtful look in his eyes. When the music ended he took her hands off the keys and examined them closely. _

"_Something's wrong with them?" Kiti asked smiling._

"_No... But tell me... You have exactly the same amount of fingers as any of us. How can you make them look and sound like you had twice as much?"_

"_Maybe it's the same trick Hikaru and Aquario used?" Gingka suggested. Kiti looked like a living question mark._

"_I'll tell you about it some day", Madoka promised._

_Kenta continued turning Kiti's hands, and finally pressed his palm against hers, stretching his fingers as long as he could. They reached hardly halfway of hers. Yuu had watched the process with interest._

"_Hey, let me try too!" _

_The result wasn't much better. The others joined the game eagerly. Kenta was fitting his both hands against Benkei's shovel-sized one while Gingka and Madoka were totally absorbed in investigating the differences of their hands, in size and shape. Apparently their fingers fitted very well between each other, because they forgot to separate them. Yuu dragged Kiti towards the corner where his favorite tag-team partner was sitting and watching the scene, greatly amused._

"_Tsubasa, you must try too! She can't beat you, I'm sure!" He grabbed Eagle's wrist and pushed their palms against each other before either one of them had time to object. _

"_There, what did I say!" _

_Kiti felt a sudden shiver in her spine when Tsubasa's warm hand touched hers. "Somebody is walking over my grave", she thought absently when Yuu pulled her forward. _

"_Yo-yo, it's your turn!"_

"_Don't call me...!"_

"_Gosh, it's a tie! Tsu, Kenta, look, it's a tie! Kiti's fingers are but thinner." He hold their hands connected with joyful stubbornness, not caring a trifle about Lions furious glare. _

"_I'll borrow your winter gloves when I lose mine." Kiti laughed and tried to turn back to her seat. There was nothing wrong with the _looks_ of her hands, but..._

Yes, Gingka and Madoka had been acting foolishly of late. Especially Gingka. But even with an effort Kenta couldn't imagine Kyoya doing the same, or Kiti accepting it. She would have laughed at him.

Suddenly he remembered Hikaru and the time they had first met before Battle Bladers. The girl had reminded Kiti in some ways at that time, but after her defeat by Ryoga everything had changed.

Kenta sighed without noticing it. They all knew Hikaru needed help but none of them had managed to find out how to help her to find her lost courage again. Tsubasa had been doing good job with her, and she had made some progress, but then his own struggle against the dark forces had teared it all down again. Kenta didn't know if they had continued their efforts after their returning from Hades City, but he was afraid Hikaru had lost her confidence on him too thoroughly. They still worked together for WBBA, but neither of them had referred to their former or present efforts to make her a blader again.

Instead Kenta had noticed a certain look on Hikaru's eyes every time she had watched Kyoya's training. He was pretty sure nobody else had noticed it – she never looked like that when she knew somebody could see her – but he wasn't so sure of the reason of that gaze. Still there was something in her eyes that made him think she wouldn't have laughed if Kyoya had forgot to let go of her hand.

He tilted the last drops of chocolate of his mug and nodded to Yuu without the slightest idea what his friend had been talking about. There were so many things going on beneath the surface he could see but not quite understand, and there was nobody to ask. Yuu wasn't interested in other people's problems and he didn't dare to ask anybody else.

"Maybe I can understand it better when I'm just a little older", he thought. His mom often said he was a precocious little lad, but why did he felt himself so terrible young then? He tried to train hard to get some day to the same level as a blader as the others, but that didn't close the gap there was between them.

"If I only could find someone to teach me how to grow stronger and wiser", he thought. Right now there wasn't any other choices but to get along just alone.

* * *

In the meanwhile Madoka was fixing Pegasos after it's last battle.

"I told you you mustn't train this hard yet!", she scolded it's owner who was lying on the couch behind her and trying to throw and catch peanuts in his mouth.

"I haven't been able to fix all the damages it got at Hade City, and I'm afraid it can't be done until I've received those new tools I ordered from Switzerland."

Gingka tried look embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Mado, but you see, Yuu was challenging me and..."

"I will hear no 'but's! I know Yuu can be pretty annoying but even he should know enough not to urge you to risk Pegasos like this."

Gingka sighed. It had been hard not to battle for real, but of course it was not as hard as to be totally without his dear bey.

"I just can't understand why Kyoya hasn't challenged me for ages", he muttered, more to himself.

"Maybe he doesn't want to do it before you are able to use Pegasos' full power. You should be glad he has that much sense."

"Or pride."

Gingka tossed the next peanut to the air. He knew the Lion would never lower himself to battle against a cripple, and he felt kind of humiliated for that.

"Sense or pride, right now it's the only proper thing for him to do!" Madoka's voice was very determined. She bent her head over her work again. Those microfissures worried her more than she wanted to admit. Another thought about the Lion came into her mind.

"He had quite a strong attitude towards Bluewolf", she said.

"That's because of his experiences with Dark Wolf", Gingka explaned.

"I don't know what happened there, he has never talked about it, not even to Benkei. But it must have been something really bad."

"I see..." Madoka listened but with half an ear. The tiniest false movement on the wrong moment could destroy the whole hour's work.

Gingka continued.

"And you noticed how fiercely he reacted earlier in the evening at Kiti's apartment."

She shivered and blushed slightly, barely escaping a fateful mistake. To say the truth, she hadn't noticed it. There had been some other things in her mind at the moment.

"Did she ever tell where she had learned to do that horrible noise?", she asked.

"Benkei asked her when we were on our way to the office, he told the whole story to me yesterday. She was in a habit to go to the woods with some old backwoodsman every time there was a pack of wolves passing nearby. They sat by the campfire and sang along with them."

"You mean they sat by the fire with he wolves?!"

"Oh, no, the beasts were somewhere in the woods around them or on the other side of the hill. They just answered them when they howled."

Madoka shook her head.

"Not exactly the kind of amusement I'd like to be with.", she said. Gingka grinned.

"I wonder if there's anything she's afraid of. You remember the day she arrived? Kyoya couldn't even make her blink."

She nodded.

Kiti had asked to see their beys and Kyoya had answered by suddenly thrusting Leone under her nose, glaring her as threateningly as only the Lion could. She hadn't moved an inch but stared him back with a certain flash in her eyes and a tiny twist in the corner of her mouth that didn't promise well.

"Maybe she's used to that kind of treatment", Madoka answered cautiously. "She has three brothers, you know."

"Three? I remember she mentioned only one little one when she talked with Yuu."

"Yes, she has one younger brother and two older ones. She told me she had to start to gain some muscles from very young age to stay alive with them."

Gingka laughed.

"In that case she will make an excellent team with Kyoya and Tsubasa."

"I think so too. She's so much like a boy herself no wonder she gets along with them better than with girls."

"But you have had good times with her too?"

"Yes, but I have practiced so long with you all." She smiled and continued her work. Gingka was also silent some minutes, munching the peanuts.

"How much do you know about this Bluewolf?", he asked then abruptly.

"Not much. Only what Ryo told us."

"You haven't tried to find out anything else?"

"I tried but it's just as he said: there isn't anything to find."

"Don't you think it's rather weird?"

She reflected a moment.

"Well, no. You see, if the bey is hundreds of years old and been lost for ages, it's no wonder there isn't any data to be found by computers. Maybe if we'd go to some museums or libraries to page through some ancient volumes we could find something."

Gingka nodded and tossed the empty bag to the dustbin.

"You think they will find it alright?"

"Why shouldn't they? Ryo gave them exact coordinates."

"Yeah, I know... I was just thinking..." he frowned. "You are not afraid they will meet any problems there?"

Madoka turned towards him.

"So you have noticed it too?", she said. Gingka was staring intensively the ceiling.

"Noticed what?"

"The way Ryo has been acting. He doesn't want to show it but I'm sure he's worried about something."

Gingka took a deep breath. He _had_ noticed the same thing. Ryo hadn't told them everything he knew – or guessed.

He sighed. There was still a tiny edge of bitterness in him of not being allowed to join the team. He wondered how much more his father had told to Tsubasa than to him. Oh yes, Tsubasa was some years older and worked as an WBBA agent before, but still...

Madoka's voice brought him back to the moment.

"Do you know how he and Kiti's father got to know each other?"

"No idea. It must have been long before I was born."

Suddenly it struck him to notice how little he did know about his father's past, both of his childhood and the years he had been hiding after the events at the mountain cave. His heart still ached when he thought of that time. They had talked about it together, several times, and he had been sure everything would be alright between them again, but the pain he had felt wasn't yet forgotten.

Madoka seemed to sense the fight he had inside him. She tiptoed across the room and handed the glittering bey to him.

"It's done now. But please, be careful with it!"

Gingka took it tenderly in his hands.

"How can I ever thank you enough?"

"By keeping it out of danger until I've fixed it properly.", she smiled. "And maybe by picking up some of those peanuts you have dropped on the floor."

She watched how the Beyblade World Champion humbly crawled on all fours in front of her and round the couch.

"When the pipe repair is is over in our house and we'll have our kitchen again I'll ask dad to make his special pizza to you", he promised. Madoka handed the dustbin to him.

"I'll be waiting for that", she smiled.

* * *

_A/N: Whew! This turned out a bit longer than I had thought. Hope it won't be much worse for it. I'm afraid there's a lot of pointless chatter, but, but..._

_Some day I'd like to write a one-shot of Kenta alone, he's such a cutie! For now I'm only lacking the ideas. _

_Btw, I didn't know it could be such fun to write a regular cliffhanger, literally! Let him hang there for a while, it won't harm him a bit. ;)_


	5. 5 On the mountain

_A/N: Of the last 30 hours I've spent about 12 standing in a church, singing. But now the fourth recording of our choir is over and done (yiii-haa!), at least the singers part of it, and I want to turn my brains to something totally different. That's why I finish this chapter so soon, otherwise I'd have left our sullen friend to hang on for much longer time... (grins)  
_

* * *

Kyoya had closed his eyes in preparing to fall. Now he opened them again. Kiti's face above him was winced of exertion but her grip on his arm hold steady. Slowly, slowly she pulled him upwards over the edge of the bank while Aquila made the last assailants fall back. The moment Kyoya got his knee over the edge Tsubasa grasped him on the collar and yanked him up.

"To the trees!" he shouted and helped Kiti on her feet.

The field on the hill wasn't too steep, but bumpy and covered by tall, brown grass. Kiti stumbled and tried to keep up with the boys. Running had always been her weak point, and the heavy backpack didn't make it any easier. After her illness she hadn't even tried to run more than a couple of steps at a time. She felt a familiar wheeze in her lungs while the lead of the boys lengthened.

Tsubasa had almost reached the nearest trees and turned to see if the others had kept up with his flying steps. He saw Kyoya just behind him but Kiti...

"She's in trouble! Come on!", he shouted, rushing back to her and seizing her arm. Kyoya groaned but followed. They all would be in bigger danger if they didn't stick together. Almost lifting the girl from the ground they dragged her through the bushes. When under the trees, they turned to run along the border of the forest. Kiti forced her legs to move. Her muscles felt like burning and she wheezed worse and worse.

At last they stopped by a steep and stony hillside. Kiti dropped on the ground, trying desperately to get some air into her lungs. Tsubasa took quickly her backpack off and turned her on her side.

"Can you breathe?"

She nodded and tried to answer but couldn't make a sound.

"Don't speak." The Eagle folded his jacket under her head and watched worried her reddish-purple face. Kyoya was looking back towards the field, listening.

"Stay here. I'll check if they are still coming." He vanished among the bushes leaving the others to wait.

The autumn day was gray and still. There were no sounds except Kiti's hoarse breathing and the tweeting of some little bird near them.

"We are too near it's nest" Tsubasa thought. He tried to work out what they should do next. If Kiti wasn't able to walk, they must camp right here and maybe turn back without having the bey. Kyoya wouldn't be too happy, but Ryo wouldn't want them risking their health for the task. The attack in itself would have been a good reason to turn back but he knew the Lion's pride wouldn't accept it as one.

The rustle of the bushes revealed Kyoya only seconds before they saw him.

"I think we dropped them", he said. "Most of them are not in such health they could follow, and the others were heading to the eastern part of this forest." He glanced the girl whose face was gradually turning from purple to gray. "She alright?"

"I'm fine." Kiti scrambled to sit up. Tsubasa handed her his water bottle.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. The horrible choke had slowly eased. She stretched towards her backpack and stood up little unsteady. "Everything's alright. Let's get going."

"Any good ideas?" Kyoya bent over the map Tsubasa had spread on a rock.

"We can't return to the road, nor to the path, we'd run straight into them. Our only possibility is to go through the woods and try to find the village from the opposite direction. The problem is, it takes more time and we can't be absolutely sure of our exact location even now."

"How about that way?" Kyoya pointed the map. Tsubasa nodded.

"It seems passable on the paper. If only..." He looked towards Kiti who made an annoyed gesture.

"I said I'm perfectly fine. Let's get a move on."

The bird still tweeted anxiously when they headed up the hill and through the forest.

* * *

When she finally dropped her backpack off her shoulders in the evening Kiti could but wonder how tired she was. They had traveled all day, stopping only to eat some energy bars to ease the gnawing in their stomachs.

Not a word was said about the possible motives or masters of the attackers.

"They hadn't any kind of markings or symbols on their clothing or cars." Tsubasa was thinking aloud when he searched for provisions in his backpack. "Ryo knew we couldn't keep Bluewolf a secret too long, but he didn't expect the information leak so soon. And I can't think of any other reason for them to attack us."

"You think they'll come at us again?" Kyoya had taken off his boots and was bandaging his feet.

"I'm afraid they will. We can't have fire tonight so we'll have to manage without warm food."

Kiti shrugged.

"Being hungry is nothing but a state of mind", she muttered. Right now she was happy just to sit still.

Kyoya snorted. He recalled another trip of his, to another village on the mountains, with another group of people after another bey. He had to admit he liked it better in his current team, even though it couldn't be compared to Team Wild Fang. But why did certain kind of beys always hide somewhere above the snowline, he wondered. Did it have something to do with the powers of those beys? If so, did this Bluewolf have powers equal to Pegasos? The thought made his heart beat faster.

Ryo hadn't said a word who was going to use the bey.

He touched lightly the green and silver bey in its case.

"Leone, don't take me wrong" he thought. "I could never change you to any other bey, be it how powerful. But what if..."

He had never heard about a person who could have mastered two constellations at the same time. But that didn't mean it wouldn't be possible. Besides, doing things the other people called impossible was already growing a habit on him.

Tsubasa had finished his eating and stood up.

"You can go to sleep. I'll take the first watch."

"Wake me up for the next." Kiti said. Tsubasa didn't answer, he was watching the stars above the treetops.

Kiti sighed contented when she crawled into her sleeping bag. The equipments Hikaru had ordered were all first-class quality, better than the ones she had back at home. They'd be warm enough even in a snowdrift.

Nobody cared to say a word about the tent.

* * *

The moon was already descending when Tsubasa shook Kyoya awake.

"It's your turn, Lion", he whispered.

Kyoya grunted and tried to make his muscles to move again. The night air was freezing cold.

"Don't wake Kiti" Tsubasa warned him before closing his eyes. "It's only couple of hours to dawn."

Kyoya stared at him.

So Mr Chivalrous had watched more than half the night for his protege. And why? Oh yes, the girl had been pretty tired even though she hadn't want to show it, but Kyoya felt sure she would have something to say about their skipping her like this. Well, that wouldn't be his problem. He walked around the nearest trees, listening, and sat on a rock to wait for the morning.

* * *

Kyoya had been right.

Kiti had quite a lot to say when she finally woke up and noticed she had missed her watch.

"I'm not a princess you'd need to carry on a silk cushion!" she raged to Tsubasa who was quietly packing his sleeping bag.

"That's just what I thought. It's easier to watch for you than to carry you" he answered. Kiti's face turned scarlet.

"You don't need to carry me until I'm dead!" she hissed and turned away to pick up her belongings.

The morning was gray and cold, the fog hanging heavily above the ground.

"_Feels like we were walking in the clouds, but we can't be that high yet"_, Kiti thought, sniffing the smells of the forest, both familiar and new at the same time. She felt her usual happy mood returning. Despite the cold and hunger, this was the kind of life she enjoyed most.

"_In a strange forest with good company, heading to a destination unknown..." _She started to hum happily. "_But I must apologize Tsubasa pretty soon... Poor thing, to stay awake half the night and then get yelled at because of it..." _

At noon they stopped by a little stream, running from the snowy top of the mountain. Tsubasa looked the misty landscape.

"I think we can as well make a fire. The smoke can't be seen in this fog and I want something warm to eat."

He took off his boots and waded knee deep into the water. Kiti stared her eyes wide.

"What on earth is he doing?"

"Wait and see." Kyoya bumped his backpack to the ground and started to search for wood.

The icy-cold water bite Tsubasa's feet and made them soon numb.

"Let's hope there is some fish", he thought. "I can't stand here long."

He let his gaze wipe the surface of the stream. This was the first time he was fishing in such cold water, and he soon realized he couldn't use all his senses as he was used to: his numb feet didn't feel the movements of the water anymore. He could only hope that the coldness would slow down the fishes as well. The slowly flowing water was crystal clear, with small shreds of the fog drifting over the tiny waves. He focused all his senses under the surface. Then – a splash, a flash in the air – and a silvery sided fish was laying on the bank. Kiti's eyes widened even more.

"Holy... How did you do that?"

Tsubasa smiled, clenching his teeth to prevent them to clatter and turned to look for the next one.

"It's not so difficult as you may think."

"Then won't you teach that to me too, please? I have seen many ways of fishing but never anything like that!" She was already taking her boots off. Tsubasa shook his head.

"Ask again next summer. Now it's too cold."

After couple of minutes they got enough for one meal. Tsubasa sat by the fire Kyoya had made, rubbing his tingling white feet while Kiti cleaned the fishes.

"Didn't take your jack-knife with you this time?" Kyoya asked eying the handsome hunting knife she had carried on her belt. The jack-knife mentioned had drawn his attention some days earlier, when Gingka had suddenly needed tweezers to pick a splinter out of his hand. It _had_ been an awesome tool too, despite the fact she had called it a mere manicure set. But compared to that lethal weapon she was using right now even his own faithful switchblade seemed a toy.

"Of course I did. Only this one is more useful in this job. And easier to clean", she answered and wiped the blade on her trousers.

While the fishes were frying Kiti looked the brook thoughtfully.

"_It's cold as hell and I'm shivering already. But the feeling afterwards..."_, she thought. _"And heaven knows when I have the next opportunity..."_

She searched something in her backpack and vanished behind a thick bush. When she appeared again she could hear the sound of two dropping jaws.

"Just taking a quick bath before lunch", she said and run to the waterfront. "Wouldn't do any harm to you either", she added winking over her shoulder.

The boys glanced each other. In less than 30 seconds they were standing half-naked in the icy water, looking shivering how Kiti splashed in her bikini.

"She's a moron!" Tsubasa heard Kyoya mutter between his clattering teeth.

"Yeah..." but a gorgeous one, he added in his mind. Kiti wasn't girly like Madoka nor curvy like Sophie, but in her own athletic way she was just... well, stunning. Water-drops glittered in her hair when she waded back to the bank, her eyes dancing.

"Gosh, that hit the point!" she sighed contently and splashed her wet palms on the boys' flat bellies.

* * *

"So, you didn't see Madame Butterfly after all."

It was late in the evening. Kyoya was already sleeping when Tsubasa reminded Kiti of her former plans for this week. She smiled dreamily, looking over the moonlight landscape.

"Not a big deal. I think this show beats it."

Tsubasa smiled shortly.

"Traipsing in the frozen wasteland, hunted and next to lost, searching for something which must sound a mere legend in your ears."

Kiti laughed aloud. The way her sensei had put it described the situation minutely.

"Still and all, I wouldn't chance."

She sighed and lifted her eyes towards the starlit sky. The fog was gone and the stars shone bright, promising several degrees of frost for the night.

"Can you name some constellations?" she asked abruptly.

"Some of them. At least those connected to the beys of my friends."

"Could you please tell me something about this bey-constellation-thing? Ryo-san did but mention it."

"All the most powerful beys have a constellation connected to them. The power of the bey is the power of its constellation, of which the blader uses within his own limits."

Kiti listened attentively.

"So that's why the practical bey I've been training with feels so soulless..." she muttered more to herself.

"Is there a constellation for a wolf also?" she asked.

"Yes, there is, but it can't be seen this far north. Ryo knows the exact latitude for it."

Kiti let her eyes wander around the sky.

"Please, sensei, teach me to recognize some constellations, will you? Where is the Eagle?"

* * *

It was past midnight when Kiti decided it was Kyoya's turn to continue watching. She had enjoyed her vigil by stretching her muscles while listening the rare sounds of the night. The silence of the wilderness was one of the reasons she must get there again and again, despite all the inconveniences. She crouched to wake up the sleeping Lion.

"_It's so funny... Why do some persons grow younger when they are asleep?" _She thought_. "And how can he still remain so stern-looking? So ab-so-lu-te-ly cute." _

Since their first meeting she had felt growing interest towards that handsome sourpuss. More than once her fingers had ached to touch his well-shaped six-pack or rumple the green mass of his hair. Tsubasa was not a bad-looking guy either, but there was something in the sullen Lion which had forced her to expurgate her own thoughts now and then. She let her gaze follow the line of his dark eyelashes on the dirt cheek.

"_Those ears and all...He must have been an adorable rascal as a kid. I wonder what is he dreaming of? He is but so..."_

She touched lightly the scar on his cheek with her fingertips. The Lion opened his eyes immediately.

"You got a spider on your mug", she whispered. "Besides, it's your turn to watch."

Kyoya saw her crawl into her sleeping bag and tried to get his stumbling thoughts in some order.

A spider.

In this cold?

Somehow he didn't want to believe her. He scrambled on his feet and listened. Deciding of her tranquil breathing she had sacked out immediately. "Like a little animal", he thought, looking the curled up figure. "Lacks only a tail to wrap round her nose."

The girl – or the little part of her face he could see – looked so childish and small in the moonlight, so different from the creature who had danced in her bikini or pulled him up the cliff. "This is not a right place for such", he thought. "Protecting, that's what that kind of a thing needs..." He stopped the thought astonished. From where was this Tsubasism arising? So far he had never cared a trifle about creatures weaker than himself, except his brother long ago. This feeling was new and he wasn't convinced at all if he did like it.

The Lion shook snarkily his head and started his usual round around the camp.

* * *

_A/N: Yes, there is quite a lot of Kiti in this chapter. And there will be some more in the next ones, sorry! I know the OC's are not too popular (even though I have met some really interesting ones myself), but at least I've tried to make her slightly different from those I have read about. Please, try to put up with her and give the story itself a chance!_


	6. 6 The Bey called Bluewolf

_A/N: Thank you to all you dear people who have read this far! I really try to keep this worth reading also from now on._ A special thanks to Cherryblossom21 for such a wonderful review! You just made my day! :D_  
_

_I hope you won't get annoyed because of the way things seem to turn. It's just one turn among many others, and as I said before, _I won't mess with the canon,_ which means there won't be too many illogicalities between this fic and Metal Fury. ;)_

* * *

The village was huddled in a little valley, like afraid of being noticed. The trio had been up and going in the twilight when the first snowflakes had started to fall. They had soon crossed the snow line, wishing hard their tracks would remain unnoticed. Now they were hunkering behind some rocks, looking the cranky roofs and walls some distance beneath them.

"Good job, Eagle!" Kyoya grunted, not quite able to cover how impressed he was. The way Tsubasa had managed first to locate them and then to direct them to this gods forgotten spot had been commendable.

Tsubasa glanced him, almost not believing his ears. Had he ever before heard the Lion gave credit to anyone?

"We'd better not to rush there right away", he said. "It's possible there's somebody waiting for us."

They descended cautiously the hill, trying to hide behind the few rocks and bushes.

"The path to the road seems to be over there", Tsubasa pointed to the one end of the valley. Kyoya looked at it and the snowy ground between the ramshackle houses.

"I can't see any tracks there. This new snow can't have covered them yet if anybody has been there."

"So you think we can go there and face the risk of not being alone?"

"That's the only way to find it out." Kyoya started to march towards the houses.

The village was as good as forlorn, the long ago abandoned houses ready to fall down after any storm. One of the cottages had been slightly repaired, with a pile of wood inside it and some ashes in the fireplace.

"This has probably been the headquarters of the scientists", Tsubasa said. "We can sleep here tonight, only the watch has to stay out."

It snowed harder now and the wind had started to blow in angry little blusters. Tsubasa looked again the map.

"It's about two or three hours walk to the place where they found the bey. The path the scientists made starts at the northwest corner of the valley. We should make it there and back before dark if we hurry."

They left their backpacks in the cottage after putting some extra clothes on.

"What are you going to do with that?" Tsubasa asked in amazement when Kiti tied her sleeping pad on her back.

"One never knows. I don't want to sit on the snow if I can avoid it and this is easy to carry."

She patted her pockets one after another. _Knife, bandage, tinderbox, MRE,..._

"Let's go."

* * *

It took some time to discovered the path under the snow, but once it was found the trio advanced fast. The boys strode at such a good pace that once again Kiti found it hard to keep up with them.

"Tsubasa, what were those scientists doing here?" she asked after couple of hours climbing.

"Some measurements, I think Ryo said. They stayed here for weeks, climbing higher and higher with their instruments. On the last day they noticed the bey but didn't want to waste their time to sever it and... Look out!"

Kyoya got hold of her arm before she found herself sitting on her butt. The downtrodden snow under the newly fallen layer had made the footpath treacherously slippy and they had to slow down a bit. The higher they got, the narrower the path grew. Finally there wasn't but a barely passable brink between steep stony wall on their left and deep fall on their right.

"They said it is easy to notice it on the wall", Kiti heard Tsubasa mutter behind her. "But how on earth can we find anything here before next summer?" He had scanned the snowy bank with his sharp eyes for some time but hadn't seen a glimpse of a bey yet.

"This track ends here anyway", Kyoya remarked and stopped some distance ahead them. "Any ideas?"

They looked blankly at each other and a big rock that blocked the brink. Tsubasa shook the snow off his hood. He felt Aquila moving restlessly but hadn't time to pay attention to it.

"We must have gone past the bey and missed it somehow. I'm sorry guys, but we must go back more slowly and..."

"There!" Kyoya hissed suddenly through his teeth. Kiti followed his gaze and saw a dim blueish glow under the snow, on the level of his shoulders. He swept quickly the snow aside.

The bey rested in the stony wall under a couple of centimetres of solid ice. Kyoya took his launcher.

"Okay, let's take it and get out of here. Go, Leone!"

Kiti turned her back to dodge the flying shard of ice. She heard Leone hit the wall again and again but nothing else happened.

"What the hell!"

Kyoya snatched Leone back to his hand. There was not a scratch on the ice. Tsubasa stepped closer, pushing Kiti ahead.

"Kiti, Kyoya, move! Aquila, Smashing Claw!"

"I have seen this happening before", Kyoya thought, backing to the big rock. "Gingka couldn't get his Pegasos by force but by calling it. But how can we call a constellation nobody knows?"

Kiti had bent her face near the wall after witnessing the vain attempts of Aquila. The bey glowed dimly in its icy bed, like humming a low tune. Through the sounds of the rising wind she thought she heard a wolf howling. She took off her mitten and touched the ice to feel the vibration of the tune better.

"Hey guys, look!"

A tiny drop of water run under her fingers.

"If not by force, then by bare stubbornness!" she whispered and pressed her both hands on ice.

After a couple of minutes she had to stop to warm her hands.

"This is too slow!" she groaned. "We'll be here on May!"

"Move." Kyoya pushed her aside and launched Leone again.

"He has used the friction to warm things before", Tsubasa was thinking aloud, "But does it work on ice?"

Kyoya clenched his fists. Leone was spinning with all its might but the only change they saw was the thin melted layer to freeze again.

"This is not real!" He stared the both beys in disbelief. That amount of drilling should have gone through a stone!

"It needs human warmth to melt it." Tsubasa said. He put his hand on the wall but took it quickly off with a yell. His fingers were blistered, like burnt.

"Don't touch!" he exclaimed but it was too late. The Lion had already held out his hand.

"It's so cold it burns" he said and backed off, gritting his teeth in pain. They stared at Kiti who tentatively placed her hands on their former places.

"This cant be!" Tsubasa thought in disbelief. "Is it because she is a girl or because she hasn't a constellation-connected bey of her own or is she just hot-headed enough? But in that case why couldn't Kyoya..."

Kiti herself hadn't time to think about rhymes and reasons. The coldness burned her as well but not unbearably.

"_If I use my both hands at the same time it freezes again while I have to warm them.", _she thought._ "So in that case..."_

She lifted her one hand and tried to blow some warmth on it. Tsubasa noticed the matter.

"Give it to me." He took her fingers between his own. The coldness of them made his hands hurt.

"Kyoya, warm it." He said when Kiti had to change the hand again. Kyoya looked him sharply. He was not in a habit to take orders like this, but in this case he decided to overlook it.

The minutes passed by. Kiti concentrated to keep the pain and unpleasant thoughts under her control.

"_What if my fingers freeze so badly I can't play anymore? What if there's more wolves than the one I heard and they'll attack? What if those assailants have found our things in the cottage and followed us here? What if..."_

She could feel the vibration of the bey clearer now. The tone hummed in her ears, filling her head with strange images. Again and again there flashed a picture of an enormous blue-gray wolf, sitting on its paws like estimating the situation. When her fingers finally touched the utmost edge of the bey, the beast tossed its head and howled.

"Aquila, what is it? Is something wrong?" Tsubasa thought. The great bird had been restless all day, not in anxious but enthusiastic way, like waiting for something. He felt it had something in its mind, something it wanted him to find out by himself. The layer of ice over the bey was so thin now Kiti was trying to break it with her nails. "It can't take long anymore", Tsubasa thought. Sooner or later...

* * *

"I got it!"

The call echoed through the wind when she finally managed to pick the bey on her palm. Her fingers were bleeding after scrabbling the ice but she didn't feel it. Tsubasa took a deep breath of relief.

"Good work! Now put it to a safe place, we must get out of here quickly."

She tried to open her pocket but her fingers were absolutely disabled.

"Hurry up!" Kyoya shouted when she almost dropped the bey. He didn't want to risk his own skin again if the bey had similar features than the ice it had been buried in, but if that butterfingers couldn't even hold it...

Kiti found it was easier to get a hold on the collar than the zipper. She stretched her neck and tried to coax the bey under her shirt. Kyoya's nerves were ending.

"Where the hell are you thrusting it?!"

"To a place you'd like to put your paws, too!" she scowled. "Ristinkiesus it's cold!"

They didn't hear the low rumble rapidly growing stronger before Tsubasa yelled.

"Snowslide! Run!"

The whole mountain seemed to be coming down on them, beginning from the direction where they had come. Kyoya leaped on the top of the rock at the end of the path.

"Up here! There's a cave behind the rock!"

There was no strength left in Kit's arms. In a second Tsubasa had lifted her to Kyoya's reach who hurled her to the back of the little cave. She felt somebody fall over her just when the skies crashed down.

Kiti pressed herself so flat on the stony wall she could. The cave wasn't but a hollow under an overhanging rock, barely capable to hide them. The thoughts whirled in a complete hodgepodge in her head: the long and painful melting process, the exultation, irritation, alarm... and wasn't there still some little devil in the bottom of her mind purring – _purring! – _when she recognized Kyoya's hot breath in her neck and his arms around her.

"_Shame on you! What if you all die right here and now and your last thoughts are something like..." _The thought stopped abruptly. If they really died now... what a horrible memorial it would make for Bluewolf! Three bodies frozen together in a mountain cave. Her imagination created a vivid picture of the situation.

"_Is Tsubasa here?!_ "A sickening fear flashed through her mind. She tried to turn her head and felt Kyoya's nose touch her ear. From the corner of her eye she could see a glimpse of Tsubasa's coat sleeve. Sighing she bent her head on the cold stone again.

Kyoya felt Kiti moving and relaxing in his arms and instinctively tightened his grip. His face was dangerously near her neck and softly tickling hair. There was something in the situation which made him suddenly wish the Eagle on his back miles away, even though he didn't want to admit why. He closed his eyes and tried not to think.

* * *

_A/N: There's only couple of things I'd like to know: Have you been relieved because I'm not asking for reviews, or do you find it more difficult to write any because of it (I hope not!)? I won't believe I have managed to escape_ all _the worst mistakes with grammar... In any case, I'd be extremely happy if you want to share your thoughts of this fic - or of whatever you want! :)_


	7. 7 Getting on their nerves

It took hours to dig themselves out of the cave and climb up to the safe ground again. The path was as good as gone. Tsubasa tried to handle the map in the flurry.

"We must get over the ridge and try to descend to the valley from that direction", he shouted over the wind which was now howling fiercely around them. "Let's hope the hill is not so steep there!"

Climbing in the avalanched snow was difficult and they were in a constant fear it to make it move again for a minor jolt. The whipping snow hurt their faces and made their eyelids bleed, despite the hoods. When finally on the safe side, Kiti was near to fall on her knees. She couldn't remember the last time she had feared that much.

There were no snowdrifts on this side of the ridge. The wind had blew all of them away, leaving only a couple of inches of hard-packed snow on the gently sloping ground. Tsubasa directed them swiftly towards the tree line which loomed through the storm.

"It's about ten kilometres to the valley. Don't know if we can make it before dark but..." he stopped abruptly and lifted his head, listening.

"A helicopter! Who on earth is crazy enough to fly in this weather?" He snatched his hood off his head and listened the approaching noise. A tiny voice was mocking in his head: "_Three blind mice, see how they run..." _I know what they felt there in the middle of the floor, he thought.

There was no place to hide. They couldn't dig into the hard snow and the nearest bushes were far down the hill.

"What the hell are you doing?! Having a nap?" Kyoya roared when Kiti all of a sudden took her sleeping mat and spread it on the snow.

"Let's toboggan, guys! Sit on your ass and lift your legs!" She thumped herself on the mat and ushered the boys behind her. The sound of the helicopter neared fast, but their own speed increased even faster. The first stunted shrubs zipped swiftly by.

"Lean left!" Kiti shrieked when a big rock appeared out of the blue – or white – in front of them. She thrust her heel on the snow, making it whirl on their faces. The mat tacked but the speed didn't decrease.

"To the right! Now left! Left!"

They zigzagged between the bushes until a soft drift gave way under them, making them roll topsy-turvy into the undergrowth. With their eyes and ears full of snow they dived into the drift and stayed listening how the copter hovered somewhere above them, near the place where they had got over the ridge. They followed its wobbling movements until it turned to south and disappeared.

Kyoya gathered himself from the drift. He tried to remove the snow from his clothes and cursed when the cold drops run down his back.

"I don't think they saw us." Tsubasa said and turned to Kiti. "You still have the bey?"

She fumbled on her coat and swallowed.

_Where is it?! Oh my God if I've dropped it..._

Kyoya grabbed annoyed her collar.

"Do I have to find it for you?!"

The answer was an enormous handful of snow slapped on his face.

"Calm down, both of you!" Tsubasa stepped quickly between them. "If you are going to fight, do it later! We must get out of here, it's darkening already!"

With a sullen look Kiti pulled her sleeping mat out of the drift.

"So you still got it?" Tsubasa required. She nodded without looking at him. Kyoya stood a few steps away, breathing heavily. The falling snow was turning into rain.

"Let's go."

Determinedly the Eagle turned and headed towards the valley.

* * *

The darkness had fallen long ago when the tired and soaked trio neared the village. It didn't snow anymore, it poured, and they were wet to their skins. Freezing and hungry they entered the cold cottage by the light of Tsubasa's flashlight.

Kiti knelt by the fireplace and fished – literally – the tinderbox out of her pocket. She piled quickly some wood and kindling and sparked.

"You can't make it burn that way." Kyoya's annoyed voice came from the darkness behind her. "You have built it totally upside down."

Kiti's hands stopped in the middle of the movement. She arose on her feet. Slowly.

Tsubasa swallowed when he saw her focus her burning gaze on Kyoya's face, as muddy and scratched as her own.

"Lissen, manebug.", she hissed between her teeth. "I have lived my whole life in a place where it's below zero the best part of the year." She took a step closer and clenched her fist. "And now _you _are trying to teach _me _how to build a fire!?"

She wasn't as tall as he, her voice wasn't but a whisper, but the devilish glow in her mismatched eyes made even the Lion think twice before answering. Tsubasa tried desperately think how to prevent the situation turn into a fistfight. One more word and they would be on each others throats, unless...

He felt his hand touch something metallic on the floor beside his pack. The mess kit. He lifted it as high as he could and let it drop on the floor with a hellish clatter. Kiti blinked. Kyoya grunted and turned away. The spell was broken, and in couple of minutes a blazing fire was sparkling in the fireplace.

* * *

The atmosphere in the cottage was more than ominous. They had undressed their soaked garments without a single thought to the modesty and spread them to dry as best they could. Wrapped in her sleeping bag Kiti huddled by the fire again. She was so mad she wasn't even hungry anymore. Everything irritated her. Despite the fact they'd got what they'd came for, despite the fact they were all safe and almost warm again (well, safe at least at the moment), despite the fact Tsubasa was preparing something to eat for them all...

_Why I'm feeling like this? This kind of anger shouldn't appear until next week. Or is my system so confused of all these circumstances that... and do I have any necessities with me? The hell I do!_

She bent her head on her knees to hold back a roar.

Tsubasa stirred the stew, watching secretly the boiling girl. He could clearly sense the red-glowing aura of rage around her and took care to stay at respectful distance.

"I'd only like to know if this has something to do with Bluewolf", he thought. "Or only with Kyoya and the circumstances?" The look the girl had had in her eyes reminded him too much the one he had once seen in his own eyes, not so long ago.

"She seems to manage it quite neatly, anyhow. Is it because it's just pure rage not poisoned with fear or despair like mine? Or is she already familiar with it?"

There were too many unanswered questions concerning Bluewolf, too. He would have liked to have a closer look on the bey but decided to wait for a better moment. Their way back to the civilization worried him. In this weather they could be sure nobody but a ranger of special forces would near the village, but on the other hand it prevented them to leave it. And when the storm ceased, how soon the assailants would be on them again?

When the stew was ready he handed a bowl to Kyoya who took it without a word. Kiti didn't even stir when he put another bowl beside her.

"What a team!" he thought grumpily and sat on the floor to eat his share.

* * *

Kiti lifted her head with a jerk.

_Did I fall asleep? What time it is?_

The anger had disappeared, making room for an infernal hunger. She noticed the cooled bowl beside her.

_Good old Tsubasa! _

She looked gratefully towards her sensei who was investigating the map by flashlight. The boys had already eaten, Kyoya was bandaging his feet again.

_I should check if I have any dry clothes left. And put that darned bey to some safe pocket. And re-braid my hair. _She pulled absent-mindedly a thistle off her braid-tip._ Where the heck did I catch _that_? And where is my comb? _

The last clean shirt felt luxurious. She sighed contently and tried to resolve the best place to keep the bey on their way back. Somehow the pockets didn't feel safe enough. She was pondering if she should give it to Tsubasa when a muffled sound near the fireplace caught her attention. Tsubasa had poked the fire and was now sitting by it, plucking his hair. Kiti hadn't understood the word but was pretty sure she guessed the meaning of it. Kyoya lifted his head.

"What now?"

"Nothing. These damned thistles!" A tuft of hair got loose with the next pull.

Kyoya smiled spitefully.

"Need a scissors, Pocahontas? Or a knife to scalp?"

The answer was very similar than the beginning of the whole discussion. Kiti looked at them for a moment. Another little devil (maybe a cousin for the first one) was whispering in her mind. She took her comb.

"Let me help." She stepped softly to the fireplace and sat behind the astonished Eagle.

"This is easier if you see what you are doing."

Tsubasa's hands were stopped halfway in the air. He felt how capable fingers started to pull the thistles off one after another, caressing his hair and scalp. Kiti continued her chatter.

"But you have a whole plantation of them here! You really dived deep to that drift."

She straightened her back even more when she felt Kyoya's sharp eyes on her back.

_Glare as much you want, sourpuss, this is a change I won't miss! _

She had wanted to do this for a long time. The silvery hair in her hands was like silk spun out of moonlight. She touched the metal clip with her fingertips.

"I need to take this off."

"I'll take it." Tsubasa snatched quickly the clip and hide it in his pocket.

"It looks great. Where have you got it?"

"Just an ancestral." His tone didn't invite to ask for more. Kiti understood the hint and focused on her work, quietly humming.

Tsubasa dared hardly to breath. The touch of her hands in his hair was something... He couldn't describe it by words but he knew he wouldn't mind if it continued half the eternity. Not even the pinching of the biggest knots could disturb the heavenly feeling. He closed his eyes and let his muscles to relax.

* * *

When the last of the thistles was picked and threw into fire Kiti stood up.

"You put that clip back yourself?"

"Yes. Thanks."

He looked the girl who stood there in her oddly shaped dress of a sleeping bag. He would have liked to ask her to sit beside him again. Very close.

"My pleasure." She smiled and tip-toed to her corner.

Kyoya was already asleep, his face turned to the wall.

* * *

_A/N: Yep, she's a naughty one. But hey, who of us would have said "No" to such an opportunity? ;-)_


	8. 8 Stuck

It was still bucketing down the next morning. Kyoya visited outdoors, but rushed quickly back in the cottage.

"It's a hell of a weather out there", he said, shaking his soggy head. "It's raining lions and wolves and the wind blows even the stones off the ground."

Tsubasa blew the embers to make them flame.

"Seems we are stuck here until the storm is over", he said.

Kiti sat up and glanced the woodpile. There would be enough of them for a day or two if they'd ration. How about the food? She rose and went to the fireplace.

"Tsubasa. How many days this kind of weather can last?"

"Don't know. Maybe a day, maybe a week. In the worst case the rain turns into snow again and blocks the paths. Then we'll be jammed until spring."

She noticed that instead of the normal three portions of food he hadn't warmed but one, to share it in three bowls.

"How much we do have provisions?" she asked.

"Hikaru equipped us for a week. If we pinch, we can make it to two, maybe even longer. Don't worry, we'll find out something." He smiled encouragingly, although the girl didn't seem to be in any need of it. She sat there with her knees to her chest, watching the flames with thoughtful eyes.

"Well, eating is an overrated activity anyway", she said cheerfully and took her bowl.

The day crept slowly by. They had eaten their shares, repaired their equipments and tried to keep out of each others way. Now there was nothing to do but wait and hope the wind wouldn't blow the roof off their heads. Kiti had spread her sleeping mat in the darkest corner of the room and was doing something that resembled an odd combination of stretching, yoga and tai chi. The boys followed her slow movements and calm breathing on the sly.

"This can't be a good thing", Tsubasa thought. The images of yesterday evening floated in his mind like a dream. He pushed them firmly aside and tried to focus on thinking their next plan. The responsibility of the team hung heavily on his shoulders.

He looked at Kyoya who sat there seemingly half asleep. Only an occasional flash of his eyes revealed him to be awake. The Lion had changed after joining the Team Wild Fang, Tsubasa thought. He had feared several loud discussions on every decision there would be, but Kyoya had accepted all his plans surprisingly quiet. The former Kyoya would have but quit the group and continued alone, had he found those plans too different from his own.

"Maybe Nile has finally managed to teach the wild cat how to sit", he thought. "Or does he know something about this bey I don't? It was quite a surprise to me he volunteered to this trip anyway."

He moved closer to his hard-boiled team-mate and started a quiet discussion in Japan.

"I've been thinking of our way back. As long as this weather holds we are quite safe here. But when the storm ceases we have only bad choices."

Kyoya nodded. He had been thinking the same thoughts himself, over and over again, and wanted to hear if the Eagle had come to any conclusion.

"When the rain stops, we can run down the path to the road as fast we can and hope there won't be anybody waiting for us. If we are lucky we'll get a lift to the station and then we'll be clear. That would be the best situation, but more likely we'll get attacked either on the path or on the road. We can't call for help, not now nor later, because the mobiles don't work up here. And even if they worked, it would be too risky to switch them on and let them track the signal."

He sat some minutes in silence before continuing. Kyoya needed not to answer, so far their thoughts had followed exactly the same course.

"The other choice is to go back the same way we came, not by the path but through the woods. The problem is, that will take more time and if this storm continues too long, we'll be out of food. Then we'll be even weaker if they'll be on us."

"I don't like hiding in the bushes." Kyoya's voice made clear which way he preferred. In fact, Tsubasa had already guessed it.

"Me neither. But this is not only about you and me."

Kyoya cursed under his breath. The Eagle was right. They had not only one but two "treasures" to bring safely back to WBBA. The bey wouldn't be a problem, it would probably be possible to touch it by now, but that darned girl was a nuisance. Oh yes, she could walk and carry her things well enough but...

Tsubasa followed his thoughts as they were his own.

"I know we have no use of her in a fight, unless she is good at throwing stones. In the worst case we can cover her so that she can run and hide in the woods with Bluewolf, and try to get a lift later, if we two get caught or – something."

Kyoya listened his serious voice. It was obvious the Eagle had thought this thing much farther than he himself had even tried to.

"I won't get caught", he said bluntly. There was no such a choice for him and Leone, never had been. Even their flight from the first attack had been a hard thing to accept for them both.

"These guys are not bladers, as you know." Tsubasa said, once again. "But if we are unanimous there's no use in hiding, we'll run to that path as soon as the storm ceases."

He rose and put some more wood in the fire. Kiti was just lifting her toes slowly towards the ceiling, standing on her head.

"So it wasn't a mere joke then?" Tsubasa thought surprised, remembering a certain comment of hers after their first training session. He felt a little guilty not letting her in the conversation and wondered how much she had heard or guessed about its contents.

To tell the truth, Kiti had heard and guessed pretty much. Besides the central points she had been sure a part of the discussion had concerned herself. She burned of curiosity, but would have rather died than showed it. If her sensei wanted to talk about her in her presence in a language she didn't understand, he certainly had his reasons to do it.

_It's not my business to mistrust his doings, _she thought. _I trust him and he will know it. Surely he'll tell me what I need to know in time. _

Keeping her breath even she bent her knees to descend on the floor again.

* * *

The poor shares of stew were eaten in silence. Nobody felt content but at least they could say they'd had a meal. When the bowls were empty they kept sitting by the fire like waiting for the nonexistent dessert. Tsubasa was the first to make an opening.

"About the Bluewolf... I'd like to have a look on it."

Kiti took the bey out of her backpack and tossed it carelessly to him, not remembering the last time he had tried to touch it.

"Careful with it!" Kyoya barked.

"Väy väy!" _The hell I need your advices, besserwisser!_ She sat angrily on the floor.

Tsubasa snatched the bey, ready to drop it immediately, but this time it didn't burn his fingers. He examined it in the flickering light of the fire. Aquila was moving restlessly again.

"What on earth it finds so attractive in these wolfynesses?", he wondered when his own eyes suddenly widened. Until now he hadn't seen but the upper side of the bey. Underneath it, round its spin track was engraved a pattern he was more than familiar with. He had seen that pattern thousands of times as a kid, and still every time he happened to glance the inside of his hair-clip. Certain figures of that pattern had belonged solely to his family, and his grandmother had had told him it was as old as the tale of their tribe. He felt his fingers grow cold again.

"Just a coincidence", he thought. "The engraving is old and this bey may have traveled round the world more than once. No wonder several cultures have left their marks on it."

"It looks quite ancient", he said unconcerned and handed the bey to Kyoya who had been watching him attentively. "Defense type, it seems."

Kyoya didn't bother to answer. "You saw more than that, Eagle!", he thought and took the bey. He balanced it on his fingertips, estimated its weight and felt the performance tip. In his mind he nudged mentally the drowsing beast near him.

"What do you think, Leone? Would it be worth familiarize?"

Leone turned its back with a grunt. It was apparent it didn't want to have anything to do with the new acquaintance.

"Let me see it too." Kiti had moved closer after noticing Tsubasa's surprised look and was dying to know the reason for it. When Kyoya handed the bey to her she suddenly stopped still and listened. The Lion could have swore he saw her ears move to catch some distant sound.

"What now?"

"Shh... there it is again!" She rushed to the window and tried to peep through the shutters, the bey still in her hand.

"It's coming closer. But there's only one." Her voice was full of enthusiasm. Tsubasa looked questioningly to Kyoya who shook his head.

"I can't hear anything."

She didn't notice his words.

"I thought I heard one up there yesterday but couldn't be sure. This time I am, it's so near."

Tsubasa had rose on his feet.

"Kiti, what are you talking about?"

She turned to him astonished.

"A wolf! Just round the corner!" She looked at the incredulous faces before her. "Don't you try to tell me you didn't hear it?!"

Tsubasa held out his hand. He had a queer look on his face.

"Kiti, bring Bluewolf here. Or no, on second thought..." He handed his launcher. "Launch it. There, on the floor."

"But... why? Why just now? And are you sure this kind of ancient relic fits on your modern type of..."

She had obediently taken the launcher and was about to set Bluewolf on it when Kyoya jumped up and grabbed her arm.

"No! You won't launch it here!"

"Goddamit, try to decide..."

The furious Lion was back again. He turned to Tsubasa, still holding her.

"Listen, goosebrain! If you let the powers of that kind of a bey loose here and by that kind of a novice, it'll blow the roof off this house in seconds! I have no doubt Leone could win it easily, but after that there would be no cottage either!"

Tsubasa watched them thoughtfully, not letting the rampage heckle him a bit.

"So you think it would start to rage as soon as it will be launched?", he asked calmly.

"What the hell are you thinking? I know it! That kind of bey and a greenhorn who can't even pull the ripchord..." he shook her arm slightly.

"Jumaliste!" Kiti yanked herself free and punched his chest.

"Okay, that's enough. Calm down, both of you." Tsubasa stepped between them to hinder the next cuff.

"Maybe it'll be best to let Madoka examine it before anybody tries to use it." He took his launcher and returned it back to his belt. Kiti was handing sulkily the bey to him.

"No, you'll carry it." There was a strange look in his golden brown eyes. "Just keep it safe."

Kiti shrugged.

"However." She went back to her mat. The howling was now farther away but she had lost her interest on it. _Keep it safe, for sure! When you can't be sure of getting down here in one piece yourself! _She fumbled with her packing. _Where on earth can I..._

Then a sudden grin flashed on her face.

_Hooray for sport-bras!_

* * *

_A/N: I have never tried to carry a bey in my bras, but considering all the various items some of my friends have smuggled in theirs (starting from keys and cellphones and ending to you-don't-want-to-know-what), I think it's not impossible. And no, my friends are not any kind of criminals, they are just... inventive. ;-)_


	9. 9 Downwards

_A/N: A couple of nights ago the weather here was exactly the same as in Kyoya's flashback in chapter 3: the swiftly moving clouds over the unbelievably bright full moon, the wind singing its old song about adventures in soft and sudden breezes... I stood at a bus-stop late in the night, watching, listening and wishing I could just walk on and on, all the night, following the moon and the wind. Luckily I had quite high-heeled shoes and not-so-warm clothes on, heaven knows where I'd have found me in the morning..._

* * *

Maybe it was the silence that woke him up.

Tsubasa stared the darkness around him some minutes before getting up. The storm had ceased, the wind didn't howl anymore but swooshed softly over the roof. There was no sound of the rain either.

"_I'd like to know how it is possible to wake because of the _lack_ of the noise", _he thought. After his struggle with the dark powers he had been a poor sleeper anyway. It had started soon after his battle with Kyoya, and got worse and worse during the weeks and months that followed. Every time he closed his eyes he could hear the mean voice whispering to him and see the wild images floating through his mind. He had tried to ignore them, but it was impossible to sleep with such a perturbation going on in his head. And even though he had managed to win his darker side and banish it from his mind, the sleep hadn't come back. He had tried several kind of relaxing methods and other tricks, but finally he had had to accept he'd just have to manage with lesser amount of sleep. On this trip he had slept better than for months, despite the uncomfortable beds, but that hadn't been a wonder after the long and hard days they've got.

He rose quietly and tiptoed to the door. As he had guessed, the wind was calming and shifting to the north. The stars were appearing one after another behind the fast moving clouds. He inhaled deeply the tingling cold night air before returning into the stuffy room.

"Kiti, wake up! We're going now." He patted what he thought her shoulder.

Kiti lifted her head and tried to get her sandy-feeling brains to work. There was no fire on the fireplace, which meant there would be no breakfast. At the other end of the room Kyoya was tightening his bootlaces. She scrambled on her feet and started hurriedly to collect her items. In a couple of minutes they were on the path, heading downwards as fast they could in the starlight.

* * *

"It's not a long way to the road anymore", Tsubasa said when they heard a distant hum of an engine. They had marched all the morning, seen the darkness turn into twilight and then to daylight, eaten only some energy bars on the run.

Tsubasa missed his pet eagle more than ever. It could have flown ahead and warned them if needed, but now they depended solely on their own insufficient senses. He tried to prick up his ears to notice the tiniest sounds through the rattling of the stones under their feet. If they only could make it to the road...

"Freeze!"

Kiti snorted. _You are late, guys!_, she thought.

Men in dark clothing were cropping up in the bushes quicker than they thought possible, but Kyoya was even quicker. Leone knocked the first line of them down before they could see him launch. Aquila's precision blow on the bank above them swarmed a huge mass of stones on the path between them and the assailants.

"I must admit I _do_ like that style of yours.", Kiti remarked, running up the path with the boys. "No beating around the bush, but straight to the point..."

"Over there!"

Tsubasa pointed a part of the hill that wasn't so steep. Climbing, sliding and bounding they descended through the brushwood.

"You alright?" He stopped to help Kiti on her feet after an unsuccessful landing from a cliff.

"More or less._" _She whisked the sand off her palms and winced when touching the fresh scrapes on them. _I like it more this direction but this darned backpack... _

It was difficult to maintain balance with several kilos of bobbing load on your back, but to Tsubasa it didn't seem to be any problem. The Eagle almost to flied from cliff to cliff, zigzagging among the bushes. Soon he was a good way ahead of them, waving his hands.

"The road is over here!"

Kyoya sped up and reached the last bank soon after him. When they stood there panting they heard a motor nearing the curve.

"Are they already..." Tsubasa exclaimed. Kyoya took a more steady hold on his launcher.

An old, rattling lorry appeared slowly from the curve, driven by a very old and very wrinkled man.

_A lift! _

The thought flashed through Kiti's brains before she could stop her pace. Her heartstopping leap caused the brakes of the lorry squeal and Tsubasa yell of horror. She missed the closing bumper by inches and rolled aside.

"Take this!" She hurled her backpack to the boys who had jumped after her. Before they had time to ask anything, she had opened the driver's door and pushed the old man in the middle of the long seat.

"Excuse me!" _So nice there isn't any seat belts in this antique!_, she thought and sat on his former place.

By now the boys had caught her idea. They threw the backpacks on the trunk and climbed quickly into the cabin.

"Can you drive this?!" Tsubasa asked when Kiti slammed the door shut.

"Bet I can! Hang on!"

The ancient engine uttered an aggrieved sound but shot forward with respectable speed.

"Explain to him." She nodded towards the terrified old man who had huddled in the legroom. He was sure these gangsters were going to skin him alive and burn his faithful vehicle in the first ravine they could find, and Tsubasa's reassurances didn't convince him at all. Why, a young man with the hair like that just couldn't be trustworthy more than that green haired scarface who probably had killed more than once in his life, not to mention that third creature with woman's voice and man's strength... Tsubasa sighed and quitted the subject frustrated. It was difficult enough to stay unharmed on the seat and fit one's limbs among those of the others in the cramped cabin.

The gravel and stones slid dangerously under the tyres. The boys felt their hearts skip a beat or two when they neared a curve without slowing down at all. Kiti muttered something unintelligible and stamped the pedals, making the lorry turn in the last second.

"Where the heck have you learned to drive?", Kyoya shouted over the noise. His head hit the ceiling every time the car jumped.

"On a rye field! Worked on my uncle's farm couple of summers. The cousins let me drive their lorry after I proved I can manage the tractor. This could be great fun if only... There they are again!" She had seen a too familiar black car in the rearview mirror.

"Kyo, stop them!"

"Don't call me..", he began, but decided then not to argue about the nickname right now. There was more important things to think first. Besides, the way she used to say his name – or at least the first part of it – wasn't so _very _annoying, compared to some other nicknames he had been called.

He stretched the upper part of his body out of the window and tried to stay steady on the wonky ride. He got Leone in the launcher and waited for the right moment.

"Chop-chop!" Kiti yelled when they once more slid in a curve, past a steep cliff.

"Go, Leone!"

A green flash swooshed through the air and hit the bank on perfect timing. Enormous rocks rumbled on the road between their lorry and the closing car. Kiti glanced the mirror and let the speed slow down. Kyoya was inside the cabin again, elbowing Tsubasa to get more room for his shoulders.

* * *

After half an hour they neared a little group of cottages they had passed on their way upwards. The old man started an eager babbling and pointed with his forefinger. Tsubasa interpreted.

"He says his dying sister is waiting for him in one of these cottages, and asks us to keep the lorry if we only let him out. I assured him we are not going to rob him or his car, but understandably he wants to get rid of us as soon as possible."

He tried to pay for their ride when they jumped off in a crossroad.

"Tell him to find the nearest garage", Kiti remarked. "The gearbox is as good as gone."

The man looked even more horrified and hurried away. Kyoya grinned.

"That old-timer won't let any womanfolks in his lorry ever again."

Tsubasa looked worried around.

"We must get another lift."

They stood in the crossroad but not a single car could be seen. A weather-beaten shingle informed about a filling station after five kilometres northwards.

"Let's go there. It'll be more vehicles to chose over there", he said. Kyoya wasn't convinced.

"The railway station is just opposite direction."

"Even better. They are expecting us to go straight there and not upwards, so they won't be after us right away." He started to march swiftly forward. Kyoya shrugged and followed. There was a point in his words, he thought. It was likely the Eagle had a new plan growing in his head, so it would be best to wait and see for the results.

* * *

_A/N: This is a short one, sorry! I've had too many 9 to 9 days lately, and the capacity of my brains is limited. A year ago I'd have never believed I could produce this much text in English, and I've been so happy to notice I'm able to do it, but that doesn't move the constant fear of badly chosen words and ridiculous mistakes... Thank you all for patience and understanding!_


	10. 10 Carhopping

_A/N: This is a short one too, but I try to post the next chapter pretty soon...  
_

* * *

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

Kiti leaned her head on the wall of just-one-more-garage and watched Kyoya filling his water bottle from the outdoor tap.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

Kiti sighed. To tell the truth, it didn't. They had followed Tsubasa and his plan without questions, and they'd still follow him, wherever he was going to lead them. Only she had a feeling the Eagle wasn't so absolutely sure of their destination himself. During the day they had traveled on a pickup truck (again), squeezed in a tiny little Morris Mini with a very fat and talkative middle-aged lady as a driver ("Never again!" had Kyoya said after 50km), twice in a normal bus (feeling the wondering glances of the other travelers), and finally the last two hours on a trailer behind a tractor, between some hay bales and hen cages, a thing which hadn't improved their already shabby looks.

Kyoya splashed some water on his face before drinking and then filled his bottle again. He had understood Tsubasa's plan the moment they had taken a lift that had brought them farther north. The seemingly headless carhopping wasn't but a carefully planned blind to bewilder their chasers. As far as he could figure, they hadn't moved a mile to south, which would have been their most obvious direction. On the contrary, they had criss-crossed the country between certain latitudes, passing the point where they started at least twice within few kilometers.

"He_ is_ clever", he thought, watching his comrade, who was running from one lorry to another and trying to find another lift for them, a task which wasn't too easy, thanks to their not-so-respectable looks. Deep down in his mind the Lion admitted he appreciated Tsubasa more than anybody else in Team GanGan Galaxy, despite their different views on certain things. Ryo Hagane wasn't but a pup compared to him. He also knew Nile shared his opinion of the Eagle. During the short time Team Wild Fang had spent in Japan the both raptors had created a mutual understanding and respect towards each other, almost without sharing a word. Kyoya still would have preferred Nile beside him on a trip like this, but after all, things could have been much worse.

Kiti snatched the bottle from him and half-emptied it in her throat, totally ignoring his irritated glare. Her own water bottle was probably on its way to Hokkaido at the moment, deciding she had noticed it missing right after descending from the bus.

"I wonder if he'll manage this time", she said and nodded towards Tsubasa who seemed to have an enthusiastic discussion with some driver. Kyoya sharpened his eyes. There was something more going on now than the usual brief conversation with the almost always same questions and answers. The driver seemed to smile and nod with a furtive look on his rather stupid face, when Tsubasa talked to him with much more confidential air than what would have been necessary. Right then the blader lifted his head and waved to them.

"Kiti, Kyoya, come quickly!"

They run to him and followed in astonishment how the driver opened the backdoor of his lorry, still chuckling, and ushered them into the trunk. Tsubasa climbed in after them and sat comfortably on the floor. They heard the engine start and felt how the vehicle turned to the main road and increased its speed.

"What the heck did you say to him?" Kyoya was burning of curiosity. He had knelt on the floor but found it impossible to relax before he'd knew what was going on.

"Not much. Just a little tale of possible fame."

"What about sharing that story with us, too?" Kyoya demanded. Tsubasa leaned back with his head and closed his eyes.

"Well, then. As you maybe saw, it was a mission impossible to get a lift for a gang of bandits like us. None of the drivers didn't want any mud, hay or chicken manure in their vehicles, not even for money, so I had to invent something better to offer." A tiny but content smile was lurking in the corner of his mouth.

"I told him we are making a new TV-show, called "Across the Japan in a truck", or something like that. We are one of the racing teams, and we need to get to north as fast as possible to win this partial. As for cameras, I said we have them hidden in our clothes because in fact we weren't allowed to tell the drivers about the show and filming beforehand, but right now we were in such a scrape we just had to trust him to keep our secret."

There was a long silence after his speech. Neither one of his companions didn't know how to react to an explanation like this. Kiti felt like numb, her brain declined to understand that Tsubasa, the absolutely honest and trustworthy Tsubasa, had invented such a fairy tale to save their skins. It was like noticing that all you knew about the laws of physics were just balderdash.

Suddenly Kyoya started to chuckle. He laughed long and silently, leaning his arm on his knee, his head bent close to them. His companions couldn't but stare. For Kiti, it was the very first time she had seen the Lion laugh or even smile (those rare and beastly grins wouldn't count). She rubbed her temples to make her weary head find some sense of the situation.

"_Am I going insane? Tsubasa lying, Kyoya laughing... What if in the next moment I'll have an irresistible need to recite romantic poems in French?"_, she thought.

Kyoya's eyes flashed in the dusk as he lifted his head.

"Good job, Eagle!", he chortled. "I wouldn't have believed you capable of that kind of stuff."

"Not the first time I had to make a cover quickly.", Tsubasa answered quietly.

The laughter stopped short. Kyoya's eyes narrowed suspiciously when he looked his companion again. It had been too easy to forget the older blader's past as a secret-agent of WBBA when all the time they had known each other he had seemed a paragon of loyalty. Maybe that ability had made him so good in his work? But was he really that reliable as he wanted to look like? This far he hadn't done anything to shake that image, but in the future maybe it would be risky to trust too much on a person who looked too much worth it...

Tsubasa moved his legs to more comfortable position. He had noticed the quick change on Kyoya's face and knew what it meant. From his own experience he also knew that every try to explain would only make the situation worse. He sighed and looked towards Kiti who had curled on the bare floor, her head on her pack. During the day he had anxiously followed the deepening dark circles round her eyes and the lean cheeks that seemed grown even thinner in the last two days. When he was sure she was fast asleep he moved and unfastened the tent (still unopened in its pack) from her backpack and tied it to his own. They had taken turns to carry it, but Tsubasa got an uncomfortable feeling he had seen that jinx of an item on Kiti's back most of the time. He hadn't dared to interfere, to prevent her silent stubbornness turn into an argument, but from now on he would take care of carrying it by himself.

The constant purring of the engine made his eyelids heavy. At the next stop they'd turn back to south, by bus or by train, he didn't know yet. But right now they'd have at least couple of hours sleep in a safe, dry and almost warm place, and he wanted to make the most of it.

* * *

Kyoya jerked awake the moment the lorry stopped. For a moment he laid motionless, listening and judging the situation. The only sounds he could hear in the darkness were his comrades breathing, Kiti still fast asleep, Tsubasa awake, likewise listening.

It was almost too quiet outdoors.

Soundlessly he moved his hand towards Leone when he heard the footsteps on the gravel and somebody opened the doors. The driver stood in the doorway, loudly whispering. Tsubasa, who was the nearest rose to talk with him, and he result of the discussion caused the Lion stand up on his feet. The movement woke Kiti.

"What now?" she asked drowsily.

"Everything's fine", Tsubasa turned to assure her. "The driver says he has to stop for couple of hours to sleep, but we can sleep here if we want to. He'll continue in the morning to... Hey, where are you going?"

Kyoya had taken his pack and walked to the door.

"Back to Metal City", he answered and jumped out.

"How?! We are in the middle of nowhere, it's more than 30km to the nearest railway station, and..."

The Lion stopped.

"I've had enough of fleeing and bluffing. I won't wait 'til they catch us sleeping in a cage, I rather walk and fight."

He continued marching.

"_He doesn't need us or any maps anymore"_, Tsubasa thought _"He can navigate by stars and find back to civilization by himself. Just when I wondered he had stayed with the team even this long! But should we follow him to stick together or are we better off staying right here, and is Kiti even able to..." _

He felt a touch on his shoulder. Kiti stood next to him, her pack already on her back, ready to jump out.

"I think he's right. We've better go on", she said quietly.

Tsubasa saw her slip out of the door and sighed. He knew it would be useless to ask if she thought she was able to walk that far.

"_Damn you, Lion!"_, he thought and grabbed quickly his belongings to walk after the others.


	11. 11 So many miles

_A/N: Dear readers, if you are tired of their constant fighting and bad language, I promise I'll make them behave in time. But you see, the conditions up there have been kind of stressing, and that's why they are not exactly at their best..._

* * *

Twenty-five kilometers left.

The moonshine and the frost turned the whole landscape into silver. Tsubasa stopped for a moment to listen and enjoy the beauty of the view. He hadn't been too often on the road this late in the autumn, nor at this hour, and the ice cold beauty fascinated him. The coldness was often unpleasant, it could be even killing, but in spite of that, the frost _was_ beautiful. Even the stillness was different, it had a kind of shimmering sound in it. He remembered his various travels in different countries, often by feet, but mostly in daytime and in warmer – and not so insecure – conditions. Only his First Big Adventure had been maybe even more unsafe...

After that tragical train accident which had killed his both parents, he had been totally alone. There had been nobody he could call a relative, and very few he could call friends. One of those few had been his pet eagle, a young bird at that time.

He had lived some years in an orphanage, but after his thirteenth birthday he had made his decision: he'd go and find his distant relatives, the descendants of his great-grandmother's tribe.

He had planned the first half of his journey very carefully. The trip over the Pacific required money and shrewdness, but after that – so he had thought – everything would go smoothly. Just walk and lift through the continent, towards north-east, not a big deal. Sooner or later he'd find someone who could help him to find his people.

So simple had been his plan. But not until he stepped on the west coast of America he truly realized how desperate the whole idea had been. The wideness of the country almost overwhelmed him. It had been so easy to plan different routes on a map, or count the day trips that he had totally forgot the shortness of his own steps. Still, there was no turning back. He had lifted his chin, gripped Aquila in his hand to give him courage and started to walk.

Later on he had often shivered when thinking how his journey might have ended. He had been too young and too confiding – but maybe his constellation had led him to meet the right people before anything too bad had happened. He had bumped into some WBBA agents in a situation he hadn't had any choices but to show what he and Aquila were worth. As a result they had asked him to join WBBA to go through the training, to become an agent himself.

He hadn't answered right away.

Despite the tempting offer, he hadn't wanted to give up his dream, or even put it off, but finally the reasonable side of his mind had won. He had gone through the hard training and became a secret-agent, spending the next years traveling round the world and crossing the Pacific more often than he cared to count. He had met people who had taught him and made him what he was today, and who had – temporarily – replaced the tribe and family he had been searching for. And finally, he had met Gingka and all the others, and with them experienced again what it meant to be a part of a team, to belong to something.

He knew that someday he'd start his journey again, and this time he would be better equipped, both mentally and materialistically. In the silvery blue moonlight he imagined how he would walk along the long, straight road, the flaming red light of the setting sun warming his back, his eagle flying above him and...

He blinked astonished.

Where did _that_ image come from? Those two shouldn't have anything to do with his past or his future dreams! He shook his head to get rid of the drowsy feeling. Really, the lack of sleep made his brains work in a very peculiar way!

* * *

Fifteen kilometers left.

It had been his greatest mistake ever to wear a pair of brand new boots on a hiking tour!

Kyoya gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk normally. From he first day those darned footwear had gnawed his feet, and despite all the bandaging his feet were now as good as shredded. He cursed the day he had seen the advertisement on the screen of Hikaru's laptop.

"_Where is Ryo?"_

_The blue haired secretary almost jumped off her chair when Kyoya's green and spiky mane suddenly popped up in front of him._

"_Oh Kyoya, you startled me!" _"What about saying "Good morning" or even "Hi" like normal people?"_, she thought and pulled nervously the hem of her skirt._

"_Where is he?", the Lion demanded._

"_I... I don't know. He was here a moment ago, but then Tsubasa came and they left somewhere and..."_

_Kyoya grunted and turned away to continue his searching._

"_Kyoya, wait!"_

_Hikaru had arose from her seat and was looking at him pleadingly. The Lion stopped. _

"Why is she always so nervous?"_, he thought annoyed. For some reason the girl seemed to be even more tremulous when alone with him._

"_What?", he asked bluntly._

_Hikaru wanted to shake herself. _"Calm yourself!"_, she thought. _"You know he hates cowards! Show him you're not one of them!" _She forced her voice stay calm and professional._

"_I want you to check if this list is alright." She handed him a piece of paper. "Ryo asked me to order some things you might need on your trip, but you'll better tell me yourself if there's anything special you want."_

_Kyoya took the list and gave a quick look on it._

"_It's alright", he said and handed it back. _"There's too many items on it anyway, so why bother?"_, he thought. Right then his eyes happened to glance on a certain advertisement on the secretary's laptop._

"_I need those", he said and pointed the screen._

_Hikaru looked at the picture of gorgeous hiking boots with rough soles._

"_I think I saw exactly like those on another site, but they were cheaper. Let me see..."_

_She tapped vigorously._

_Kyoya was astonished. He had expected a long and nervous row of explanations about why "she couldn't buy a thing like that without asking the director first, etc, etc", but not this. The whole idea of a new pair of boots had came into his head the moment he saw the ad. He had been quite happy with his old footwear until now, even though he had to admit they were almost worn out. _

"_There, you see." She turned the screen to let him see better. "What is your size?" _

_Yep, those were the very boots he had searched for his whole life. With them he would conquer the whole world, if needed. Quickly he let her know his shoe-size, before slipping out of the room to escape the further questions._

_Hikaru looked at the door he had closed after him and sighed. _

"He could have even thanked"_, she thought and felt the sad disappointment gnawing her heart. To tell the truth, she wasn't too sure if Ryo had meant she could order this kind of personal items, but when Kyoya had stretched his arm over her shoulder and said he needed something, she would have been ready to order him whatever he wanted. Even if she would have to pay for it herself. She turned back to the screen._

_Well, she shouldn't have expected too much. The Lion just wasn't in a habit to say "Thank you" to anybody. But maybe when the items arrived and he'd find his new boots among them..._

_Smiling she continued her work._

Kyoya groaned and tried to find anything to focus his thoughts to shut the pain out of his mind. He came to think about how different everything had been with Team Wild Fang.

Hot dust under the blazing sun. Frozen mud in the moonlight.

A Bull, a Scorpion and Horus. An Eagle and a Wolf.

Three trustworthy fighters, who all shared the same ambition. An almost-too-perfect WBBA agent and a pampered chick.

The aims of these two groups had been different as well, which partly caused the unlikeness of the troubles they had met, but at least one thing hadn't changed: the way they traveled. The rhythm of his steps was the same as it had always been, only it had never been so painful to keep it up. Not even when he pulled the coffin loaded with stones with him.

And never before had he felt so clearly Leone's antipathy towards any other bey. It had usually dealt every new bey they'd met with an aristocratic disinterest, except in battles, but this time there was something more. He couldn't say if it originated from their encounters with other wolves or his own secret wish to use the bey himself.

"_I can never force Leone to co-operate with anybody against its own will"_, he thought. _"But if I manage to solve that problem, what possibilities it will open..."_

* * *

Five kilometers left.

"_This wasn't so hard a leg after all."_

Kiti felt her courage return. The few hours nap she had got in the lorry had done all the difference, as well as the energy-bar – her last one – she had eaten on their last stop. The night was so beautiful, the moon so bright, it made her want to run and jump and sing... She took a little dance step and laughed to herself.

"_I'm over tired, that's why I don't feel it anymore"_, she thought. _"What on earth they will think of us at WBBA when we come back with an unopened tent and almost half the food? Maybe they think we were just too lazy to cook, and therefore eat only the MREs and energy bars..."_

She chuckled and tried to recall an old song her brothers had taught to her as a kid. The first – and last – time she had sang it at school the teacher had put her to sit in a corner and told her to wash her mouth with soap. But the melody fitted so well with the pulse of her steps, and now she was old enough to sing whatever she wanted...

* * *

After the umpteenth verse of the monotonous song, sung in an unintelligible language, Kyoya's nerves were at an end.

"Can't you stop that freakin' noise?!", he roared.

Kiti jumped. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts she had totally forgot her companions, and this sudden outburst had startled her. Then she flared up.

"TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR...!" she yelled with all her might.

Kyoya's leap was silent and quick as a flash. He grabbed the girl with his other arm, trying to press his palm on her mouth.

"I said, shut that f... OW!"

He jumped backwards, holding his wrist where Kiti's sharp teeth had pressed into his skin. The girl had ducked under his arms and stood now glaring him, crouched and her fangs visible, ready to defend herself.

"You little b...", he hissed and took a step towards her when an iron strong arm stopped him.

Tsubasa stood between them, his hands on their shoulders, keeping them separated. When he lifted his bent head they could see the soft glow of the dark purple flames in his eyes. His voice was dangerously quiet.

"Kiti. Kyoya." The grip of his hands hardened.

"Be. Quiet. Both of you."

They stared at each other a moment. Then Kiti turned abruptly and started to march forward, her head proudly up. The glow she had seen in Tsubasa's eyes had made her feel there was some powers even she didn't want to disturb too much. The pitiful cry that suddenly was chocking her throat made her want to slap herself.

Kyoya didn't move. He spoke low too, struggling against his will to hit the other to the ground.

"Listen, Eagle. Don't you ever think you could command me like this!"

"I don't." The glow in Tsubasa's eyes had vanished. Suddenly he looked just very tired. "But you know as well as I do what would be the result if we two battled right here and now."

His golden gaze didn't yield and the grip on the Lion's shoulder was as firm as before. Kyoya knew their challenge had to wait for better occasion. If they started it here, it wouldn't only wake the whole neighborhood, but also destroy half the road with its environments. But he knew he would win that battle, and he let the fact show clearly in his eyes.

"I don't care if you think you can beat me the next time we battle.", Tsubasa said and left his hand drop. "You're welcome to challenge me anytime when we are back at WBBA. But before that we have a duty to fulfill."

Kyoya felt he wanted to rip someone in pieces. Without a word he turned and started to march forward, letting the anger overwhelm the pain in his feet.

* * *

_A/N: Did I hear somebody speaking about cats and dogs...?_

_Well, now you know where are from those gorgeous boots our sullen friend had in Metal Fury. Some day I'll have a similar pair, too!_

_The idea of Tsubasa's ancestors came into my head when I saw a certain sketch made by Slumber Poppy in Deviantart. I know very little about Native Americans (not even the correct name in English, sorry!), but I have understood the subject is kind of delicate in USA and Canada. In any case, I DON'T WANT TO OFFEND ANYBODY, so please correct me if you think it's needed. In a book I found pictures of the art and decorations of Naskapi tribe, and they looked like something that could be carved also on Tsubasa's hair-clip... _

_Another advertisement for good stories: Juniper Gentle's To Learn Their Ways and Malluchan's Breakaway have been an important source of inspiration to this chapter. _


	12. 12 In the train

_A/N: Sorry for the delay! The Mute Lion took almost all the time I had for writing last week, and for some reason this chapter has been extra reluctant to turn into reasonable sentences (everyone of you who have written something yourself probably know the feeling...) The result isn't what I'd like it to be, but now I want to move on with the story.  
_

* * *

"_Oh, how I wish they'd have a sauna on this station!_", Kiti thought when they neared the tiny station building in the gray twilight._"Or an onsen. Or even a bathtub!"_

Her wish didn't come true. They arrived to the station only to notice the first train of the morning was already there. They had barely time to by the tickets and jump on board. When they walked through the cars to their seats they noticed people staring them, some of them hiding their noses in their sleeves.

"_We must look terrible. And smell, too!"_, she thought. _"I wonder if they'll let us sit here among normal passengers, or if we are shooed in a freight car?"_

When finally on the right car they found their places were already occupied. Two harsh-looking teenagers were drowsing on the benches, their feet lifted up on them. Tsubasa couched.

"Excuse me, but these places are ..."

A more than half-eaten apple thumped on his forehead, accompanied with guffaw. He wiped calmly his face with his already filthy sleeve, but Kyoya thrust past him. He stepped straight to the guy who had thrown the apple, grabbed his collar and yanked him up to the wall.

"Move – your – ass!", he hissed and hurled the poor youngster to the corridor like he had been a sack. Then he threw his pack on the shelf, thumped on the seat and closed his eyes, showing clearly what would happen if anybody tried to prevent him. The other teen slipped quickly out of the car.

Tsubasa helped Kiti's pack on the shelf with his own and sat on his place. Kiti had already curled on the window seat opposite Kyoya, both of them snoring happily.

Tsubasa sighed. Sometimes he really envied his comrades' ability to sack out where- and whenever they wanted. The car they were in was old and the benches seemed to be even older, with no armrests at all nor any possibility to adjust the back rest. He tried to think all the good sides of the situation: They were on their way to south, sitting in a warm and dry place, and what most important, as far as he could judge there would be no fear of attacks as long as they stayed there. At the interchange they could buy something to eat, if they didn't want to rob the restaurant car before it, or if they weren't thrown out because of spoiling the air of the car. And when in Metal City, they'd take the first taxi to take them home. If he only could be sure Kiti would be safe in her apartment with Bluewolf before they could leave it to Ryo...

The air in the car was stuffy and the sleepy breathing of his team-mates sounded really calming. Just when he was drifting off he felt something lean heavily on his shoulder but was too tired to care.

* * *

Kyoya stretched his neck, still half asleep. There was no use to open his eyes yet, he could sense the situation around him hadn't changed essentially during his sleep. The light was brighter, of course, and there was more people in the car, but those were not reasons to wake up properly.

But oh, how he wished there was a system in human body how to cut one's head off and put it on the shelf or on one's lap when forced to sleep in upright position! He moved fretfully. He could usually find a way to organize his limbs comfortably, but head and neck were a nuisance. Whoever had made these seats, he hadn't made them for sleeping, that was sure! If he only could find something to use as a pillow...

He opened his eyes to reach his pack but the sight in front of him made him freeze. His team-mates were there alright, still fast asleep, but their position...

Kiti had moved in her sleep and ended up to lean on Tsubasa's shoulder. The slight jolting of the train had caused her to slide downwards, until her head, arms and shoulders were resting on Eagle's lap. On top of that, Tsubasa had wrapped his arm protectively round her waist.

Kyoya gritted his teeth. The girl was ragged and soiled like a little hobgoblin, but something in the combination made him feel there wasn't enough air to breathe in the car. He stormed up and past them to the door.

Tsubasa startled awake. He saw Kyoya's empty seat and recognized vaguely his receding steps, but why... His face turned scarlet. For five seconds he couldn't but stare the sleeping figure on his lap.

How could this have happened? Had he really been so comatose he hadn't noticed anything?

With extreme carefulness he lifted his arm off the girl, thinking desperately how to get out of the situation. The last thing he wanted was to let her wake up on her current position, but how on earth could he make her move before it happened? No doubt Kyoya had already seen them, and that was bad enough.

Suddenly the girl jerked and mumbled in her sleep. Wincing she stretched her arms, like pushing something away.

"Pois... käärme... Kyo, EI!" The mumbling turned into a scream. She pounced up, ready to run heedlessly on anything, when Tsubasa caught her arms.

"Kiti, calm down! It's just a nightmare!"

She blinked and tried to wrench her hands free. Tsubasa let her go.

"Everything's alright. It's me, Tsubasa. You're safe now." He spoke soothingly, like he had often calmed Yuu after his nightmares.

"Tsu..." Slowly she returned back to the reality. "Where are we?", she asked bluntly.

"Somewhere between Hokkaido and Kyushu." Kyoya materialized between the benches. "The train is late and we have already missed the one we should have taken to Metal City. The next one leaves so late we won't get there before midnight."

Moaning Kiti slumped on her seat. At least twelve more hours traveling before she could get her bath. She'd have rather walked that time, that would have been at least _doing_ something, but as it was, they couldn't but sit and wait.

Nobody dared – or cared – to sleep soundly anymore. Kyoya had managed to make an adjustable pillow of his jacket and was dozing off every now and then, but the other two were too restless to close their eyes. Neither one of them wanted to repeat the situation they had woke up, one because of his embarrassment, the other because of her fright.

Kiti didn't remember exactly what she had been dreaming of, but the abhorrent feeling didn't disappear. Besides, she got an uncomfortable feeling something awkward could happen if she let herself sleep again. She glanced to Tsubasa who was sitting there with Aquila in his hands, his eyes closed. His concentrated countenance told her he wasn't sleeping, and reminded her of the incredibly strong connection the bladers seemed to have with their beys.

"_Maybe they are discussing about something"_, she thought. _"It must be an awesome feeling to get contact with something so powerful, and to be able to control it."_

Even the feeling she had got when managing a practical bey for the very first time had been incomparable.

"_Just follow me." Tsubasa demonstrated very slowly._

"_The bey into the launcher – straighten your hand – target to the middle of the dish – and rip!"_

_Kiti closed her eyes and ripped. The bey whizzed through the air and landed beautifully, a couple of inches from the middle._

"_Very good! That was an excellent launch!" Tsubasa nodded her encouragingly. Kiti could only stare the spinning bey, her eyes open wide._

"_What shall I do with it now? And where can I put these..." She handed clumsily the launcher and the ripchord. Madoka came to help. _

"_I'll take them." _

_Tsubasa continued._

"_Now you must get a contact with the bey. Every bey, with or without constellation, creates a kind of energy circle around it when spinning. It's that circle the blader communicates with, and controls its movements", he explained. Madoka smiled at Kiti's confused appearance._

"_It's not always easy to get the contact with a new bey.", she said. "The more powerful bey, the more outstanding the energy it creates, but then it's also more difficult to control. This one is very tame, so it may be quite hard at first to..."_

_Kiti was not really listening._

"An energy circle, indeed. Get a contact, for sure.", she thought.

_She raised her hands towards the bey. No good._

"Contact._"_

"Energy."

_The only thing she could sense from the bey was a quiet scratching sound. She closed her eyes and focused her mind to follow the point that caused the sound._

"There. And that should be moved?"

_In her mind she dragged the point towards the deepest part of the dish. It didn't follow too easily._

"_Oh!" Madoka gasped._

_Kiti opened her eyes. The bey spun now exactly on the middle of the dish. Tsubasa swallowed what he had been just about to say and waited for the next move._

"So that's how it works. Let's move the scratching, then. How about a figure eight?"

_Focusing her eyes and ears to the spinning top she started to move it._

_At that very moment Ryo's face appeared in the doorway, Gingka and the rest of the gang on his heels. Seeing the excited faces and slowly moving bey he stopped suddenly, causing the others to bump on him. _

"_What's happening there?" Kenta whispered, ducking under Benkei's arm. Ryo waved them to be quiet._

"_Shh.__ Let's go to the monitoring room."_

_He led the others to a small room beside the practice room. Through the one-way mirror they could see how Kiti – totally ignorant of the world around her – carefully drew her figure eight, over and over again, faster and faster. Her eyes were narrowed and lips set, while her hands moved unconsciously according to the movements of the bey. _

_Tsubasa whistled silently. Normally beginners were only able to push or fling their beys without much power or accuracy, but this newbie seemed to have it totally under her will. Of course, she didn't have any speed yet to speak of, but the way she kept the bey under her control was remarkable._

_Suddenly she squatted down and made the bey come nearer her outstretched hand._

"_Come to mama!" she whispered._

Kiti sneered. The rest of the show hadn't been too flattering for her. Trying to lift the spinning bey to spin on her fingertips, she had lost her balance and landed headfirst into the dish. But that hadn't lessened the amount of praise and enthusiasm Ryo had showed on her. He had insisted her to start beyblading seriously at once, and had ordained Tsubasa to be her coach before she had had time to think the whole thing over. Of course she didn't have anything against learning new skills, and the silvery haired teen had been a really nice sensei, but she still felt a bit strange in this new world they had dragged her in.

In her home nobody had been interested in beyblading, and she hadn't even touched a bey before arriving to Japan. Her father had sometimes mentioned something about the "great times" he had had with Ryo when they were young, but she had never cared to listen.

Anyway, training with the bey had been a nice counterbalance to her practicing with the harp, and it _would_ be cool to be someday good enough to challenge Kyoya. And maybe someday she'd have a bey of her own, instead of that dull and soulless practical one.

She stretched her feet and happened to kick Kyoya's boots, receiving a furious glance from him.

"_I_ _must ask Tsubasa if there is other beys operating with sounds and pitch, like Yuu's Libra"_, she thought, and leaned her head on the window. _"That would be just the thing for me."_


	13. 13 Who?

The next morning Kiti's phone rang precisely at 11.01. She fumbled for it and answered with her eyes still closed.

Tsubasa's anxious voice worked into her misty brain.

"Is everything alright?", he asked.

"No. You woke me up."

"That's good. It means you're still alive. I'll be there in half an hour, we must take the bey to the headquarters. Be ready."

"Heyy, what..."

"See you!"

He shut the phone to prevent her asking for more time. Every minute she and Bluewolf were alone made him more and more nervous. Less than ten hours ago they had arrived to Metal City and took the first taxi to take them home. After leaving Kyoya to his front door, Tsubasa had overwhelmed his embarrassment and insisted to come and check Kiti's apartment before heading home.

"I'm not afraid of monsters under my bed or bad guys in my wardrobe!", the girl had protested. The only things she had wanted were to get a shower and go to sleep. Most preferably at the same time, but without a bodyguard to bother about!

"I know you aren't. But I am afraid for Bluewolf.", he had answered, looking into the hiding places she had mentioned.

"Then why don't you take care of it yourself?", she had muttered crossly.

Tsubasa hadn't answered. He had his reasons not to separate Kiti and the bey, but he wanted to talk with Ryo before disclosing the matter to anybody else. To tell the truth, he would have preferred to stay the night at her and watch over them, but for certain reasons that was out of question.

Routinely he had gone through the whole place, not knowing exactly what he expected to find, and relieved he didn't find it.

"Promise me you won't open this door to anybody before I call you tomorrow morning!", he had demanded when finally leaving. "Keep the blinds shut and try to keep as quiet as possible."

Kiti had wanted to laugh hysterically. The whole situation seemed just absurd to her. Surely nobody could be so interested in an old bey to find out where they all lived and then to wait there and rob them! How could anybody even know which one of them _had_ the bey, for instance?

"I promise you anything you want if you promise not to call before eleven o'clock", she had muttered and pushed the Eagle out of the door.

* * *

They met Kyoya at the entrance hall of WBBA building and headed straight to Ryo's office. Tsubasa had sent a message to his boss in the morning to make sure he was in the house, and to ask Madoka to be there too. The mechanic arrived with Gingka when Tsubasa was finishing his brief report about their adventure.

"But why didn't you call you were in trouble? We could have sent help.", Ryo asked. He had been very relieved when receiving the message, but his worries arose again after hearing their story.

"For two reasons", the Eagle explained calmly. "When up on the mountain, there was no network for the mobile. And when coming down after the second attack, there was no place safe enough to wait for your help. It was better to disappear completely. We couldn't take the risk to be traced by the call, so we kept the phone switched off."

Ryo nodded.

"You're right, as always. Excellent work, Tsubasa. You have once again proved what you're worth."

The Eagle blushed slightly.

"We couldn't have made it without everyone's effort."

The director waved his hands impatiently.

"Yes, yes, of course. But where is the bey now?",

"Here." Kiti had squeezed Bluewolf in her pocket all the way to WBBA. She handed it to Ryo, relieved to get finally rid of it.

"Let me see it too!" Gingka rushed forward to look but stopped disappointed when seeing the blue-and-gray bey in Ryo's palm. "It doesn't look so very handsome. I mean, the picture we saw was blurry enough, but I still expected it would have looked more like... you know?"

Ryo turned Bluewolf gently in his hands, smiling.

"The humble looks match with the facts we already know about it", he said, lifting the bey into the light. "It has never tried to boast with its looks or powers, but there are several interesting circumstances it has been connected with. I'm looking forward the results of your examination.", he said and handed the bey carefully to Madoka.

"I'll report as soon as I can", she answered and vanished to her workroom. Gingka was about to follow her, but lingered a bit at the door.

"But who's going to blade with it, dad? Every strong blader we know already has a good bey."

The question made the Immortal Phoenix look a bit confused.

"Well... in fact, I haven't thought of that yet", he finally admitted. "You see, the most important thing this far was to get it safe before Dark Wolf's gang. And it seems we got it just in the nick of time."

Gingka looked at him incredulously.

"Don't you mean we'll just put in the strongbox and keep it there? C'mon, Pegasos has waited so much to have a nice little battle with a new opponent!"

"But you just said there isn't anybody to use it. At least I can't think of anybody who would..."

"Let Kiti try it."

Tsubasa's sudden words astonished them all, Kiti herself more than the others. Ryo was the first to find his voice again.

"Why... What do you mean?"

"She has a connection with it already", the Eagle explained. "Let her try it."

Kyoya clenched his fists. He had never happened to think _this_ possibility. Had the Eagle gone insane? He had just been about to ask the bey for himself, to test it together with Leone, but that darned birder had managed to make it first.

Ryo stared them with his mouth open.

"A connection...? How do you know?"

"She was the only one of us who was able to sever it form the ice. Kyoya and I couldn't even touch it at first. Besides, she has heard its voice."

They all turned to look at the girl who had been sitting on the desk.

"Hey, it was a real wolf I heard up there!", she protested. "Wasn't it, right?"

Nobody answered. Ryo started to walk back and forth on the floor, his hands behind his back.

"Listen, Tsubasa, I can believe you have thought this throughoutly, but still... Bluewolf is a strong beast, maybe stronger we can foresee. And Kiti... despite her potential, she isn't but a beginner yet. It may be dangerous for her if she isn't strong enough to manage it."

Tsubasa nodded, a bit pale but resolute. He had thought about it, a lot, in fact. But after his silent meditations with Aquila he felt more and more sure of what he was doing.

"Of course she mustn't test it alone. But if we three together are ther too, we should be able to stop it if something goes wrong." He glanced towards Gingka and Kyoya and startled. Kyoya's facial expression had never been too friendly, but this time the anger glowing in his eyes was something more he had expected. With a sudden movement the Lion stepped in front of him, his teeth gritted.

"Listen, birdie: If you think you'd get me and Leone to protect that precious pupil of yours, you're wrong! I didn't climb on that mountain to fetch a toy to a pampered princess! That bey is one of the strongest, and it belongs to somebody who is able to handle it! Not to a sissy chick who can't even..."

"Kyoya, listen..."

"I won't listen such rubbish anymore! !"

He was about to storm out of the room, but Kiti jumped on his way.

"Just one more thing", she hissed, pale of rage. Never, ever, had anybody insulted her this badly! A sissy princess, holy... ! Quickly as a flash she stretched to whisper into his ear, covered by her hands.

In the next second the Lion seemed to pale and blush violently at the same time. The others stared stupified when Kiti rushed out, slamming the door behind her. The bang made the lights rattle.

Kyoya stood still, his ears flaming red, unable to move. Too many feelings were rampaging in his mind. But not because of her words, because in the very end, she hadn't _said_ anything at all. No, the only thing he had heard had been a trembling sigh, while something wet and warm had quickly run along the edge of his ear.

The sensation it had caused had totally paralyzed him.

He cursed violently in his mind when thinking how much the others might have seen. That little witch! She had known exactly what she was doing! If he leaved the room now, it would look like he was running after her. But staying where he was like this made him look just... stupid! And he hated to look stupid, hated it almost more than any other thing!

With a groan of despair he rushed out.

"Well!" Ryo sighed and wiped his forehead. "Looks like we have more than one hot-headed wildcat in the house nowadays!"

Tsubasa grimaced.

"You haven't seen but the beginning yet", he said dryly. "Will you let her try the bey or not?"

The director lifted his hands.

"Go ahead, try it!", he said. "And after that let the others try it too, if they want to. Do whatever you like, as long as you won't argue about it!"


	14. 14 The Master of Bluewolf

_A/N: It snowed yesterday! ! ! (-dances round the house and in the garden-) The whole landscape looks like a Christmas card, and even though I know this November snow usually doesn't last but a few days I'm always childish enough to hope it would stay... _

_So sorry for the delay (again)! These weeks in Nov-Dec are the busiest of the year in my job and hobbies (it's often very difficult to distinguish those two from each other) and I just haven't had energy (nor brains) enough to finish this chapter earlier. I'm so waiting for Christmas and the holidays!_

_And please, dear people, go and read tigressRising's story "Consumed by Darkness", and her other writings in deviantArt! (Leone, Eagle, Aquario, Count on me, Striker, etc...) They are excellent! ! I found them this week, and when I read the Eagle I felt the hair on my neck stand up: It _is _a bit scary to find how well the ideas of another person - an absolute stranger - can fit with one's own, like they were planned.  
_

_Thank you all again for reading, favouring, following and reviewing this! You really make my day! :)_

* * *

Tsubasa and Gingka found Kiti at the practicing room. She was going through her usual set of warming-up movements with her practical bey, hurling it angrily back and forth in the dish.

"Never mind about Kyoya, Kiti", Gingka tried to cheer her up. "He's just... You know. I'm sure dad will find you a cool bey if he thinks that..."

"To hell with the bey!", she snapped. "I'd go to that mountain again tomorrow morning to fetch another one to anybody who wants it, just for the fun of it! But, goddammit, I won't listen a moth-eaten tomcat calls me a sissy, after all we've been through!"

She whisked her bey with such energy it sparkled. Tsubasa stared at them.

"_She has never had that much power in her movements before! How on earth is she doing it, she hasn't even practiced for over a week? She'll brake it if she continues like..."_

"Hey, look out!", he shouted, but too late. Kiti had reached the point in her program where she should have lifted the bey into the air, and then landed on a marked spot. Usually she had managed to jump only a few inches, but this time she exceeded herself: the bey swooshed up like a rocket, scratched the ceiling, and - smashed down the dish, shattering to thousands of splinters.

"Holy... It has never done _that_ before!", she uttered and jumped down to see the damage. "It's all shards and dust! Even Madoka can't make anything of this!" She picked some of the biggest particles on her palm. Tsubasa came quickly closer to look.

"Kiti, have you ever managed to lift it that high before?", he demanded.

"No, never! You have seen it yourself. This has been one of the most difficult movements for me."

"Have you ever been as angry as today when trying it?"

She grinned.

"Not quite. But I was pretty near that day you made me to do it one-hundred-and-eighty-four times before you thought I did it elegantly enough."

Tsubasa ignored the mockery in her voice.

"So there's only one more explanation left", he muttered. "Tell me, where did you keep Bluewolf after we leaved the village?", he asked.

Now his deshi blushed.

"In my bras", she answered, after hesitating a second. The boys reddened even more. "Hey, you told me to keep it safe and that was the safest place I could think of at the moment! But what does it have to do with _this_?" She handed him the fragments. Tsubasa didn't know which way to look.

"I... I can't be sure, but it seems that... it's possible that Bluewolf has transferred some of its powers to you when you carried it... um... close to your heart", he finally said, his face glowing.

"What?!" Kiti slumped down on the nearest bench and lifted her hands. "Or no, don't say anything! After all what I've seen and heard of your beys during the time I've spent here, I won't be surprised on anything anymore. Whatever the most incredible things, it seems to be an everyday issue to you! But..." She frowned anxiously. "What if I _don't want_ any extra powers? How can I get rid of them?"

Tsubasa looked at her helpless. He felt sort of guilty for the situation. Aquila hadn't mentioned anything about this.

"I've no idea", he finally said. Gingka rushed to the door.

"I'll get dad!" he shouted.

* * *

When they came back, Kiti was still sitting on the bench, her knees to her chest, staring the floor.

"I know cases when a constellation has chosen a blader it wants to be with", the director said after some questions. "But that is extremely rare nowadays, because it concerns the beys that haven't a constellation yet. Besides, even though the spirits can be a bit self-willed sometimes, they usually ask permission before connecting with anybody."

"Then how can we be sure it's Bluewolf affecting Kiti, and not something else?", Gingka asked.

"Don't know. Let's go to Madoka."

* * *

"I'm not ready yet", the mechanic said when they entered her room.

"Madoka, could you lend us Bluewolf for a second? It's important.", Ryo asked. He took the bey and handed it towards Kiti. "Take it to your hands", he ordered.

Kiti had remained at the doorway, her hands behind her back.

"_Don't you even think about it!"_, she thought and shook sullenly her head like an obstinate child. _"I'm not a guinea-pig of yours to test weird things!"_

Tsubasa took the bey and came to her.

"Kiti, you know I wouldn't ask this if I thought there would be any danger to you", he said quietly. His golden brown eyes looked straight into hers, calm and reliable. Kiti felt her heart beat faster. During their training sessions she had learned to respect her sensei's will as well as his skills. How much she even hated him for stretching her limits sometimes, she knew he had never demanded her to cross them too far. If there was a single person in the world she could think worth it...

"_I trust him!"_, she decided. _"Whatever he'll ask of me, I'll trust him."_ She closed her eyes and gave slowly her hand. Tsubasa pressed the blue-gray bey on her palm, wrapping her fingers round it with his own. He wasn't surprised anymore to hear Aquila's joyous greeting.

Kiti breathed quickly when the familiar image of a blue-furred wolf flashed in her mind, the howling of it filling her ears. She felt some giant bites in the enormous puzzle of her mind locked into their right places. When she opened her eyes again she saw Tsubasa had felt the same.

"It's yours.", he said.

* * *

Benkei was worried.

It was almost two weeks now he had last seen his tough-minded friend and leader. After their return from the mountain Kyoya had visited WBBA only to leave Bluewolf to Ryo, and then vanished again. From Gingka Benkei had heard about the quarrel, but that wasn't the first – and definitely not the last – time the Lion had raged over something and then leaved in anger. But when days passed and Kyoya couldn't be found at home, WBBA, nor the usual places he used to train, Benkei begun to worry for real.

"He can't have leaved to Africa, can he?", he asked Kenta one day, after one more futile visit to the headquarters. "Without me! What would Nile and Demure say, then? Shouldn't they tell me if he's there with them?"

Kenta couldn't say anything. When Kyoya lost his temper, he could do hasty decisions. But to fly to Team Wild Fang without their fourth member... Could he really be that rude?

Hikaru had listened their discussion anxiously. She too had been worrying, but there was nobody she could open her heart. When leaving the house late in the evening she took – once again – the longer route to her apartment, scolding herself at the same time for being ridiculous. Kyoya could take care of himself, he didn't need anybody's care. If he wanted to stay hidden, with his phone switched off, he had full rights to do so, and more capability for it than most of them.

She turned the last corner of the street and stopped to look towards the window she had watched countless times.

This time there was light inside.

Without a second thought she rushed cross the street and up the stairs, ignoring the honks and angry looks she got. Not until at his door she stopped to think.

She had never been in Kyoya's apartment before (had _anybody_ been there, except Benkei?), and what reason did she have to be there this time? What would he say to her? Would he let her in at all? And what should _she_ say? That Ryo had sent her? That they had all been so worried and she had came to see if everything was alright?

She shook her head. Usch, he'd laugh at her! Or no, not laugh, but he'd utter one of those scornful snorts of his, accompanied with an icy glance from his piercing eyes. Hikaru felt she couldn't endure to be the target of either right now, after all the anxiety she had felt.

She sat on the steps and listened.

How quiet it was in there! From other apartments she could hear muffled sounds of steps and talking, but behind his door just – nothing. Had she seen right after all? What if she had mistook the window? She could never have been too sure of it anyway.

She stood up and pressed her ear on the door. Not a sound.

Collecting all her courage she rang the doorbell.

The seconds crawled by.

After several minutes of waiting Hikaru tiptoed down the stairs and out to the street. Before she turned the corner she glanced once more over her shoulder.

The window was dark.

* * *

High above the street and the lights Kyoya was sitting on the roof. He had seen the blue-dressed secretary run heedlessly among the cars the moment he was leaving his apartment. He had escaped quickly to the roof, but stopped there- not knowing himself why he did so - and waited until he saw her come out again and walk crestfallen away. He knew Benkei had visited behind his door several times during the last week, but what on earth had s_he _to do there? Had the director sent her assistant on an errand?

The Lion snorted. He had his reasons to be alone for a while, and until his businesses were ready, there was no use to try to catch him. If his comrades had something to say to him, they just had to wait until he was ready to contact them again. The only thing he'd have liked to know was the question of Bluewolf: had Kiti tried to manage it, and what had the results been? The bey with its spirit still interested him, but the mere thought of the girl made his anger arise. The Eagle wouldn't have suggested such a thing without firm reasoning, so there had to be something between those two – or four? – of them the others didn't know yet.

Annoyed he rose on his feet again. There was no time for such musings, he got some training to do.

"Whatever!", he muttered and vanished into the shadows.

* * *

_A/N: My, it's difficult to write about the constellations now, after reading tigressRising's stories of them! I don't know myself anymore which are my own thoughts (="thoughts before this week") and what I have absorbed from her... But at least now you know where the best ideas for bey-spirits in this story are from, from now on!_

_Btw, I got a new idea for a story about Kyoya and Team Wild Fang when I saw a nice picture in a magazine of an animal protection organization. Let's hope I'll have time to write it down on Christmas holidays! ;)_


	15. 15 Of Friendship and Obstinacy

_A/N: Finally! Long time, no see. Sorry for that. But I have been so much out of myself I haven't been able to enter into the Beyworld for months (just some family issues, nothing too serious). Besides, this chapter is almost solely about Kyoya (via Benkei), and he's such a strong person I found it impossible to write about him when I felt too downcast and hollow myself (even though the chapter isn't so very bright anyway…)._

_Thank you so much to all you dear people who have read, followed, favored or reviewed this! Without you I've never got this far. _

* * *

Benkei knew that being clever wasn't his strong point. Since his first meeting with Kyoya, he had found it better to leave all the scheming to him, and just try to learn as much as possible from him.

"Someday I'll be like him!", he had thought, "And then I'll surely win him!"

But Benkei also knew he got another skill, a skill which sometimes could be as useful as cleverness. When facing situations he had to manage by himself, he didn't trust his brains, but his – stubbornness.

By sheer obstinacy he had got through many difficulties: He had tamed the spirit of the Dark Bull, he had found his way to the substitute member of Team Wild Fang, and above all, he had made Kyoya to accept his friendship.

Benkei knew he meant more to Lion than a mere nuisance nowadays. But why had he disappeared like that, without a word? Didn't he trust him anymore?

The last weeks the bull-blader had wandered up and down the city, checking every place they had used to train and trying to find some tracks of his friend: A broken wall, a scattered rock, certain kind of scratches on the mark... Nothing. The only result of his efforts were aching feet and infernal hunger.

The day after his discussion with Kenta he had been desperate enough to go back to the Lion's den – i.e. Kyoya's apartment to meet his neighbors.

An elderly lady, living alone beneath Kyoya's flat, eyed him suspiciously.

"So you are a friend to that green-haired rascal, young man?", she asked. "I haven't seen him for weeks, which is lucky, because the mere sight of him gives me creeps. Are you sure he hasn't done anything illegal and got paid back for it?", she asked hopefully.

Benkei squirmed.

"No, I'm sure that... he just... I'd like to know if...", he stammered, stretching his cap in his hands. The piercing eyes of the lady seemed to read his most secret thoughts.

"Well, as I said, I haven't _seen_ him. But there is _somebody_ in that apartment, creeping there every night at unholy hours, muttering words and doing things _I _don't want to have anything to do with. And_ you _shouldn't have either!" The stern look she gave to the bull-blader made the boy feel like she had caught him at the cookie-jar. Maybe he managed to look guilty enough, because her next words were surprisingly friendly.

"You're a decent young man, I see. I tell you this, because a wrong kind of friend may cause you more trouble than an enemy. Oh, if you only knew what happened to my left-door neighbour last year..."

Benkei thanked hastily and hurried back to WBBA to escape to hear any more gossips.

He climbed straight to Tsubasa's room. Ryo had recently given his right hand man an office of his own, despite the fact the house was over-crowded with employees already. The room wasn't more than a cabinet, but it had a big window that could be opened wide, and a firm door that could be shut tight. In Tsubasa's opinion it was perfect.

"Tsubasa, do you have a map of the city?", Benkei panted. The Eagle lifted his eyes from the monitor.

"Sure." He opened a drawer. "It's quite new. I prefer these old-fashioned paper prints, even though you can find everything in the internet nowadays."

Benkei snatched the map and stood there now hesitatingly. He had expected some questions and prepared several more or less lame answers, but Tsubasa didn't seem to need any of them. On the contrary, he was tapping his computer again, quite lost in his own thoughts.

Benkei coughed.

"Tsubasa, where would you go if you wanted to find a good place to train... alone? Not too near the centrum area?"

Tsubasa understood immediately. He had had his suspicions when Benkei had arrived, and now he knew he had been right. He gave his hand towards the map again.

"Let me see."

They spread the big map on the desk and bent their heads over it. Benkei tried to look calm and not-too-enthusiastic, but found it hard to keep his feet still. If Tsubasa couldn't help him to find Kyoya, then nobody could. Why, wasn't the Eagle almost as clever and strong as the Lion himself!

"That could be worth trying."

Benkei bent forward to see. Tsubasa's long fingers had flied over the paper, and stopped now to point a gray spot on it. He breathed quickly. But of course! Why hadn't he remembered that before! It was an abandoned factory area, a bit out of the city. They had visited there once about a year ago during the factories shutdown to check out the place, but it had been so far from their apartments they had forgotten it. Or, Benkei had.

"Thanks, man!", he breathed and rushed out of the room. Tsubasa stared after him for a moment.

"So that's the way things are going just now", he thought. "I hope he'll find him. But does he want to come back, that's another question..."

Through his window he saw the big boy run headlessly over the street, the map flapping in his hand.

* * *

The factory area was enormous. Benkei had run by the chain-link fence for a long time to find a place to creep through or over it.

"It's too quiet there", he thought. "Maybe he isn't here today. But if I could get in I could find some tracks..."

The chain-link fence turned to plank one, but Benkei still continued his run. After another corner he had to stop for breathing. Through his huffing he thought he heard a distant sound. He tried to hold his breath to hear better.

Could it be… it was so far off, but still… oh yes, there was somebody beyblading there!

He started to run again.

"Kyoya-pal...", he whispered. Now he was sure of it, that kind of roar couldn't belong to anybody else but Leone. But what was that another voice he heard? A tiny, meowing sound that almost drowned under the noise of the spinning bey – no, beys. At least two of them.

Like a hunted rabbit, Benkei rushed back and forth along the fence. He _had_ to get in there! What if Kyoya was in trouble and needed a friend to help him!

The fence was firm and flat, not a toehold to catch. For a cat-like climber like Kyoya it wouldn't have been a problem, but for Benkei it was a mission impossible.

The noise of the battle was now very near, he could hear Kyoya's voice.

"Left, I told you! Left, not right! Go round it, to the other side!"

Benkei stopped. What was happening there? Usually his companion didn't need any words when directing his bey. So why did he shout like that?

"Leone, I told you not to… Move, you little bastard! Get out of his way, don't you see..."

Benkei listened, completely shocked. Never, ever before had Kyoya talked like that to Leone. Something was really amiss over there!

Right then he noticed a tiny knothole on the fence, about on the level of his knees. He knelt down to see a glimpse of the battle.

At first he didn't see anything but dust and sand because of the zig Leone had made just in front of him. After some seconds he noticed Kyoya's boots only some metres away, standing on a box. Benkei didn't see his face but by the sound of his voice – he was still shouting some very incoherent instructions – he suddenly realized his friend was near his limits.

"Kyoya-pal...", he whispered again. Who on earth could have pressed Kyoya this far?

Benkei tried to catch the other blader with his narrow view but didn't manage. Why didn't the opponent say anything? Was he so sure of his skills there was no need for words?

Benkei was just about to shout and reveal himself when a curious sight caught his eyes. A tiny, yellow-and-white bey came wobbling towards Kyoya, veering round the box. Not far from it circled Leone, waiting for orders.

"You got this one more change!" Kyoya's voice was hoarse and quiet. "You, from the left. You, form the right. Hit that spot _together_! Not too hard, Leone, he's too weak. And you," his voice grew angrier, "keep out of his way! Now, go!"

He waved his hand. Benkei heard a whoosh when Leone shot out of his sight. The little one did its best to follow. He held his breath. Then – a roar, a moan (from Kyoya), a crash – and silence.

Kyoya dropped down from the box, on his knees. Benkei startled when he saw his exhausted face. He seemed too tired to call Leone back, but it came and landed beside him. The smaller bey followed, bouncing and wobbling, and collapsed finally by his feet. Kyoya didn't move.

Benkeis thoughts stood still. The empty gaze in his friend's eyes made him shudder of sympathy. He felt there was no danger anymore, no malevolent opponent to win, but something was still wrong. He tried to move his legs in a more comfortable position and understand what was going on.

* * *

Kyoya sat on dusty ground and stared the two beys in front of him.

What had he even expected? How could he even had thought it could work?

His eyes felt sandy of tiredness, every cell in his body cried for rest and sleep. He had worked like a dog these past days, and what had he got?

"Congrats, Edison!", sang a tiny, nasty voice in his head. "Now you know too how it feels to find out the 756 ways how _not_ to create a light bulb."

Kyoya winced. In the very end, Edison _had_ created his light bulb. He hadn't. But he still felt it shouldn't have been impossible.

He hit his fist to the ground. It wasn't impossible! At least, the failure hadn't been his fault! He had learned to "launch-and-load" - or "double-rip", as he called it – so quickly the second bey landed almost simultaneously with the first one. He knew he could make them land and hit simultaneously if he practiced some more. But what was the use of it, when the result wasn't but a disaster?

He eyed angrily the little yellow-and-white bey beside the green-and-silver one. He had tried so much to make it as nice as possible to Leone. The endless amount of beys he had presented to him hadn't been easy to find, but Leone had made it only too clear what he thought about them. Finally he had asked in despair if there was any bey in the whole world that wouldn't be so very annoying than all the rest. And by some barely noticeable signs he had picked up this one: a young and inexperienced balance type bey, connected with a constellation of some small feline.

At first he had tested it alone to learn to know it better. Of course, it was a mere toy compared to Leone. It was weak, it was clumsy, but at least it was obedient. But in its eagerness to please him it caused only more trouble. And Leone didn't make things any easier, not for the kitten nor himself. Oh yes, he still did obey him, but in such a fiendish way it didn't leave any room for the kitten to do its part. The smaller bey seemed to be always on the bigger one's way, or if it wasn't, it didn't have any change to get close enough to do what it was asked to.

Kyoya lifted his eyes towards the sky where heavy clouds were gathering.

"But why, Leone? Why?!", he whispered.

He was still sure it was possible to manage two beys at the same time. He had almost proved it, the only problem was _which_ two. Be it which two beys you ever could find in the universe, in the very end he had to accept the fact that Leone wouldn't be one of them. He could feel the eyes of his constellation spirit on his back.

"_We are stronger alone, Kyoya"_. The words of the beast formed in his mind. _"This whole thing proves only you don't trust me – or us – anymore. You don't think we can achieve enough power by ourselves to win what we are reaching for."_

Kyoya shuddered. Leone had hit exactly the point he had been avoiding to think. For a long time it had been just an unconscious, uncomfortable feeling in the back of his head. When he had first realized it, he had tried just to wave the thought aside, but now it was there, as bare and ugly as the truth ever could be.

He was losing his faith in Leone and their work together.

Sooner or later that would mean loosing Leone as well and their companionship. The proud lion spirit wouldn't stay too long with an incredulous partner.

A cold feeling tightened its grip round his heart. If he lost Leone – was there anything in the world worth living for anymore?

Kyoya bent his head to his knees and buried his head in his hands. If it was even possible for him to feel like "desperate", this was too near of it.

* * *

On the other side of the fence Benkei sat still on his crouched position, hardly breathing, ignoring the pain in his knees. Not until the gray day had turned into dusk and the first raindrops started to fall he rose on his stiff legs and stood there, thinking.

It was impossible to go to Kyoya right now. The wooden fence wasn't but a brake, there were other things that prevented him to continue even more totally than any fence could do. Even though he still couldn't understand the whole situation, he knew the Lion would never forgive him or anybody who would catch him in a moment like this.

Benkei stretched his back and tried to decide what to do. He had found his friend, he didn't want to turn back and go home after getting this far, but what else could he do?

For some minutes he just stared the fence in the thickening dusk. When nothing could be heard on the other side of it but the sound of the increasing rain he finally turned and walked silently away.


End file.
